Quote

Whenever I have tried to make a character bad, they end up being good in some way.

You do get fond of your characters. Handing them on is like giving a child to a nanny.

The only way I can be there and really get into the character is if I'm her.

I think it is important that you care about the characters, and you are not just waiting for the next action sequence but have a vested interested in what happens to them.

When you put your characters in a dire situation, they often do things that surprise even you, so you have to go back and revise your original conception of who they are.

I think the key is to give the reader characters they not only care about, but identify with, and to never take away all hope.

I think it's really great to be able to stick with a character for a long period of time. It's not like you have one shot, and that's it.

Character is one of most precious parts of you. You can't get involved in things that will damage your character.

That's the way it happens - some characters you set out to use, some are happy accidents. As long as it works, it doesn't really matter how you got them.

You have to play your characters, not like them.