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For me, plot always comes out of character, so I had to be sure of my characters.

When we don't have all the details about our characters, we have to make it up to fill in all the details. So, for me, writing and acting go hand in hand.

I'm always writing about character first. Plot, such as it is, comes from the characters.

Characters are incredibly important, but I tend to build them around the plot during the outline stage. However, once I'm writing the manuscript, the characters I'm writing dictate how the plot unfolds.

I always find that I have to be emotionally on my character's side for it to be convincing.

I am a firm believer that a good plot makes for a fun enough read, but it's not what binds us. If we don't care about the characters, we won't care - not in a lasting way - about what's happening to them.

When I sit down to write a scene, I have a plan in mind, and I'm thrilled when a character disregards my goals and takes the story to a place I hadn't imagined.

Part of me becomes the characters I'm writing about. I think readers feel like they are there, the way I am, as a result.