Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Kenneth Martin "Ken" Follettis a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 150 million copies of his works. Many of his books have reached number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, including Edge of Eternity, Fall of Giants, The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, Winter of the World, and World Without End...
NationalityWelsh
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth5 June 1949
writing character thinking
I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.
writing stories spare-time
I started writing stories in my spare time.
reading writing research
I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing.
war writing world
My favorite period is World War II, and I'm in the middle of writing my fourth novel set in that era.
character writing thinking
When I'm writing a woman character, I don't think, 'What would a woman do?' I just think, 'What would this character do in this situation?
writing cutting long
We all now tell stories by cutting from one dramatic scene to the next, whereas Victorian novelists felt free to write long passages of undramatic summary.
fear writing credit
An awful lot of thriller writers write women rather badly. So just doing it OK gets a lot of credit.
ask dramatic essential great history scenes telling turning
I start with the history, and I ask myself, 'What are the great turning points? What are the big dramatic scenes that are essential to telling the story?'
advice best engage novel people reader
Well, for people who want to write best sellers, the best advice I can give is to say that the novel has to engage the reader emotionally.
chapter characters great spend work year
I'm a great planner, so before I ever write chapter 1, I work out what happens in every chapter and who the characters are. I usually spend a year on the outline.
draw material war written
With the World War II era, there's so much written material to draw on. When you go back to the 14th century, you have to imagine more.
books broke looking people push time wrote
Listen, I wrote 10 unsuccessful books before I broke through, so I'm looking all the time to keep my books fascinating. I want to write what people want to read, not push any message.
five minutes sit wake
I wake up with the story in my head, so I really like to be at my desk about five minutes after I wake up. So I don't get dressed. I put on a bathrobe, I make tea and sit at my desk.
chance union
With hindsight, we see that the Soviet Union never had a chance of world domination, but we didn't know that then.