Writers Write

'Most importantly, tell the stories that are important to you. Write the stories that you’d want to read yourself, the stories you need to tell, the stories you need to hear. It doesn’t matter if they get published or read—it can be great if they do, but writing them down is the important part.' ~Celeste Ng

The Booker Prize Longlist

'A tale, like the universe, they tell us, expands ceaselessly each time you examine it, until there’s finally no telling exactly where it begins, or ends, or where it places you now.' ~Chang-Rae Lee

'I think what I do is think of an angle. So I ask myself a question, and if the question is really interesting, I want the answer. I think all books are a question with an author seeking an answer. And so my story often starts with a question.' ~Sally Gardner

'I’m starting the plotting process for book three, because if What a Way To Go has taught me anything, it’s that structure and planning are the bedrocks of writing a novel. In the last conversation I had with my amazing editor before the book went off to the printers, she emphasised that structure is the scaffolding which holds your writing up.' ~Bella Mackie

'I spent years learning my craft, writing all sorts of things. Short stories, radio plays. Four or five unpublished novels. You’ve got to be obsessive, prepared to stick at it, spend enormous time and effort and then still get nowhere. But it’s a bit like acting. You need a touch of luck as well. The right person reading your manuscript at the right time.' ~Jack Higgins

'You need to be writing because you love doing it and because you have a story, poem or whatever just bursting to get out. You need the passion for it first, then you develop the techniques and the stamina to keep going.' ~Juliet Marillier