Top quotes by Ken Follett

I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing. Votes: 18

I have quite a few different Bibles. Having rejected my parents' religion, I still think the King James Bible is the most important work of literature in English. None of us can help being influenced by it. Votes: 17

People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed. Votes: 17

In my books, women often solve the problem. Even if the woman is not the hero, she's a strong character. She does change the plot. She'll often rescue the male character from some situation. Votes: 15

I wanted to be some kind of captain of industry. Then I wanted to be in advertising, and then I wanted to be a newspaper reporter. Votes: 15

She wanted to say 'I love you like a thunderstorm, like a lion, like a helpless rage'... Votes: 12

World War II is the greatest drama in human history, the biggest war ever and a true battle of good and evil. I imagine writers will continue to get stories from it, and readers will continue to love them, for many more years. Votes: 11

The CIA's research program is described in a book called The Search for the Manchurian Candidate. Votes: 11

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. Votes: 11

For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words. Votes: 10

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. Votes: 10

It's great that in the German language I've sold almost 30 million books. Isn't that amazing? Votes: 8

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. Votes: 8

I started writing stories in my spare time. Votes: 8

My favorite period is World War II, and I'm in the middle of writing my fourth novel set in that era. Votes: 8

I went and looked at one of these great cathedrals one day, and I was blown away by it. From there I became interested in how cathedrals were built, and from there I became interested in the society that built the medieval cathedral. It occurred to me at some point that the story of the building of a cathedral could be a great popular novel. Votes: 7

I want to tell a story that makes the reader always want to see what will happen next. Votes: 6

She loved him because he had brought her back to life. She had been like a caterpillar in a cocoon, and he had drawn her out and shown her that she was a butterfly. Votes: 6

The thriller is the most popular literary genre of the 20th century. Votes: 6

Having faith in God did not mean sitting back and doing nothing. It meant believing you would find success if you did your best honestly and energetically. Votes: 6

There is a real connection between Philosopy and fiction. Votes: 4

The first casualty of a civil war was justice, Philip had realized. Votes: 4

I aim to be translucent, so you don't notice the words, just their meaning. I haven't much insight into people's motivations. Votes: 3

A very good editor is almost a collaborator. Votes: 3

I use a professional researcher in New York who does all the legwork, all that stuff which would take me days and weeks of calling, waiting for people to call back. Votes: 2

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?' Votes: 2

I read mostly fiction, a lot of 19th-century novels. Votes: 2

When you're thinking, please remember this: excessive pride is a familiar sin, but a man may just as easily frustrate the will of God through excessive humility. Votes: 2

Movies have influenced all writers, not just thriller writers. Votes: 1

He was like a man who has got used to drinking the finest wine, and now finds that everyday wine thats like vinegar. Votes: 1

President Wilson says a leader must treat public opinion the way a sailor deals with the wind, using it to blow the ship in one direction or another, but never trying to go directly against it. Votes: 0

His talent was to express his readers' most stupid and ignorant prejudices as if they made sense, so that the shameful seemed respectable. That was why they bought the paper. Votes: 0

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?' Votes: 0

There had been a wonderful atmosphere of liberation and camaraderie. The Russians hated it. Votes: 0

What she needs,' Tom said aloud 'is a husband.' Agnes said crisply, 'Well, she can't have mine. Votes: 0

The old men were still running the country. The politicians who had caused millions of deaths were now celebrating, as if they had done something wonderful. Votes: 0

He did not really understand the game they were playing: in his world, the best way to get something was to deserve it, not to toady to the giver. Votes: 0

When he thought about how he had been slighted, condescended to, manipulated and deceived, he became angry. Obedience was a monastic virtue, but outside the cloisters it had its drawbacks, he thought bitterly. The world of power and property demanded that a man be suspicious, demanding, and insistent. Votes: 0

Why did people manufacture trouble when there was already so much of it in the world? Votes: 0

Hard work should be rewarded by good food. Votes: 0

In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness. Votes: 0

Trusting someone was like holding a little water in your cupped hands - it was so easy to spill the water, and you could never get it back. Votes: 0

Thrillers have been traditionally very masculine books; the women characters often rather decorative. Votes: 0

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. Votes: 0

Without books I would not have become a vivacious reader, and if you are not a reader you are not a writer. Votes: 0

James Bond is quite serious about his drinks and clothing and cigarettes and food and all that sort of thing. There is nothing wry or amused about James Bond. Votes: 0

I am very fond of Edith Wharton. She's quite high brow but also a great storyteller. My favorite is 'The House of Mirth.' I also like 'The Reef.' Votes: 0

Culture clash is terrific drama. Votes: 0

There was a very serious communist strain among American intellectuals before the war. America was a more tolerant place in those days, and Communists were not treated as pariahs. That ended with the McCarthy era. Votes: 0

There is no point in asking a man a question until you have established whether he has any reason to lie to you. Votes: 0

With hindsight, we see that the Soviet Union never had a chance of world domination, but we didn't know that then. Votes: 0

A baby was like a revolution, Grigori thought: you could start one, but you could not control how it would turn out. Votes: 0

After a certain point, most people, including editors, will tell you everything you do is great. Votes: 0

An awful lot of thriller writers write women rather badly. So just doing it OK gets a lot of credit. Votes: 0

But desperate people find courage. Votes: 0

But the lesson of Abraham's story is that God demands the best we have to offer, that which is most precious to us. Votes: 0

Ethel said: "Lloyd, there's someone here you may remember-" Daisy could not restrain herself. She ran to Lloyd and threw herself into his arms. She hugged him. She looked into his green eyes, then kissed his brown cheeks and his broken nose and then his mouth. "I love you, Lloyd," she sad madly. "I love you, I love you, I love you." "I love you, too, Daisy," he said. Behind her, Daisy heard Ethel's wry voice. "You do remember, I see. Votes: 0

Everybody takes what they life from the teachings of the church, and ignores the parts that don't suit them. Votes: 0

Fear could paralyse. Action was the antidote. Votes: 0

He had been granted his life's wish-but conditionally. Votes: 0

His aim was the glory of God, but the glory of Philip pleased him too. Votes: 0

Hunger is the best seasoning. Votes: 0

I am very fond of Edith Wharton. She's quite high brow but also a great storyteller. My favorite is 'The House of Mirth.' I also like 'The Reef. Votes: 0

I could fall for you in a heartbeat Votes: 0

I enjoy learning technical details. Votes: 0

I imagined it. I wrote it. But I guess I never thought I'd see it. Votes: 0

I like to create imaginary characters and events around a real historical situation. I want readers to feel: OK, this probably didn't happen, but it might have. Votes: 0

I might not be a good socialist, any more than I'm a good Christian, but I am one. Votes: 0

I’ve worked with volunteers before,” he began. “It’s important not to… not to treat them like servants. We may feel that they are laboring to obtain a heavenly reward, and should therefore work harder than they would for money; but they don’t necessarily take that attitude. They feel they’re working for nothing, and doing a great kindness to us thereby; and if we seem ungrateful they will work slowly and make mistakes. It will be best to rule them with a light touch. Votes: 0

It was an odd relationship, but then she was an extraordinary woman: a prioress who doubted much of what the church taught; an acclaimed healer who rejected medicine as practised by physicians; and a nun who made enthusiastic love to her man whenever she could get away with it. If I wanted a normal relationship, Merthin told himself, I should have picked a normal girl. Votes: 0

It was an odd thing to do, to stand in a street in the hope of seeing someone who hardly knew him, but he did not want to move. Votes: 0

It was the most romantic plane ever made. Votes: 0

Jack Reacher is a brilliant movie Votes: 0

Knotty theological questions are the least worrying of problems to me. Why? Because they will be resolved in the hereafter, and meanwhile they can be safely shelved. Votes: 0

Man who betrayed you once would betray you twice. Votes: 0

Most of my stories have some basis in fact. Votes: 0

Nevertheless, the book gave Jack a feeling he had never had before, that the past was like a story, in which one thing led to another, and the world was not a boundless mystery, but a finite thing that could be comprehended. Votes: 0

One of the hardest things for me, now that I'm famous, is finding people who can read my stuff and give me an honest critique. Votes: 0

Proportion is the heart of beauty. Votes: 0

She looked at his young face, so full of concern and tenderness; and she remembered why she had run away from everyone else and sought solitude here. She yearned to kiss him, and she saw the answering longing in his eyes. Every fiber of her body told her to throw herself into his arms, but she knew what she had to do. She wanted to say, I love you like a thunderstorm, like a lion, like a helpless rage; but instead she said: "I think I'm going to marry Alfred. Votes: 0

The boundary between philosophy and fiction is not as clear cut as you may think and the two definitely interact.. Votes: 0

The degradation to which you subject others comes back, sooner or later, to haunt you, Votes: 0

The duck swallows the worm, the fox kills the duck, the men shoot the fox, and the devil hunts the men. Votes: 0

The most expensive part of building is the mistakes. Votes: 0

The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying. Votes: 0

To someone standing in the nave, looking down the length of the church toward the east, the round window would seem like a huge sun exploding into innumerable shards of gorgeous color. Votes: 0

We’re all good when it suits us, he used to say: that doesn’t count. It’s when you want so badly to do something wrong—when you’re about to make a fortune from a dishonest deal, or kiss the lovely lips of your neighbor’s wife, or tell a lie to get yourself out of terrible trouble—that’s when you need the rules. Your integrity is like a sword, he would say: you shouldn’t wave it until you’re about to put it to the test. Votes: 0

What news? There's nothing to tell. I'm a nun. Votes: 0

When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose. Votes: 0

Why was it, Lloyd wondered, that the people who wanted to destroy everything good about their country were the quickest to wave the national flag? Votes: 0

You never know," Jack said speculatively. "There may come a time when savages like William Hamleigh aren't in power; when the laws protect the ordinary people instead of enslaving them; when the king makes peace instead of war. Think of that - a time when towns in England don't need walls! Votes: 0

You see, all that I ever held dear has been taken from me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And when you've lost everything-" Her facade began to crumble, and her voice broke, but she made herself carry on. "When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose. Votes: 0

you should first follow the plow if you want to dance the harvest jig. Votes: 0

Why do you have to be the same as the others? ...Most of them are stupid. Votes: 0

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? Votes: 0