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My books are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.

I never plot out my novels in terms of the tone of the book. Hopefully, once a story is begun it reveals itself.

I love a well-plotted story. But I'm just not that kind of writer, and it's not necessarily by choice. When I manipulate plot, I feel I lose authenticity.

I personally feel I still have so much to learn as a writer; each novel is better than the one before, just because I'm getting better at it.

I'm not writing great literature. I'm writing commercial fiction for people to enjoy the stories and to like the characters.

I don't plot my novels - I move along with my characters.

When I begin writing, I have no idea what my novels are ultimately going to be about. I don't have a plot. I never consider a theme. I don't make notes or outlines.

I'm becoming more of a novelist as I get older. The novel just seems the truer form. There's less artifice involved.

If I had a plot that was all set in advance, why would I want go through the agony of writing the novel? A novel is a kind of exploration and discovery, for me at any rate.