Ken Follett

“The great thing about being a novelist is that you can be a different person every day.”

“I read a lot of history, and I'm always struck by how much people's lives are shaped by the times they live in.”

“Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning.”

“The most important thing for a writer is to be a reader.”

“Love, and the lack of it, is the root of all of our emotions.”

“I'm a storyteller. That's what I do. I tell stories.”

“The story is always the most important thing.”

“I want to make the reader cry and laugh and gasp. I want the book to be a roller coaster.”

“Fear is the most powerful emotion in the world. It’s the thing that limits people.”

“Research is what I do when I don't know what to write.”

“The most important thing for a writer is to be interested in the world.”

“People who don't read are living only one life. A reader lives a thousand lives.”

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

“History is not the story of heroes, it is the story of overwhelming force.”

“Sex is a part of life. You can't have a story about people's lives and not have sex in it.”

“I think the secret of a good thriller is that it’s not about mind-bending twists. It’s about character.”

“Poverty is not a character failing.”

“Writing a novel is like building a house. You start with a plan, you lay the foundation, you put up the walls, you put on the roof, and then you decorate.”

“In my experience, the best creative work is never done when one is unhappy.”

“History is the story of the struggle for power.”