oracne - Victoria Janssen (oracne) wrote,
oracne - Victoria Janssen
oracne

Kinsale on novels

"...writing a book is not like driving a car. You don't get in, turn the key, push the gas pedal and steer it where you want it to go. It's more like riding a horse - it is a give-and-take with another living entity. Every horse is different, and every character is different (hopefully). So the writer has to get to know this beast, and that is just a process. For me, I can't do it all in outline - that would be like trying to figure out how to ride a particular horse without getting on it. I have to write into the story to discover the characters. I do research on the setting as I go along, and get ideas, and some ideas "ring true" and some don't. Some that I think will work great turn out not to work when I try to write them...

I feel that a character's flaws are what allow the reader to relate to them. I'm well-known for not being a fan of the "perfect" heroine. Our admiration may be aroused by perfection, but that is a distant emotion. Empathy comes from a shared sense of humanity, and that's what interests me. The flaws that I choose are flaws that interest me; that seem to challenge the character in some way...."
Tags: quotes, writing
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