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Well, the thing about great fictional characters from literature, and the reason that they're constantly turned into characters in movies, is that they completely speak to what makes people human.

The problem with being a writer is that some readers tend to think that anything that comes out of a character's mouth is you talking.

Writing can give full meaning to characters and avoid pure stereotype.

I know when I go and see a writer, the first thing I think to myself is, 'Are they the character in the book?' You just can't help it; it's the way people are.

Insight into character comes from listening intently to the spoken word. The physical person, their charisma, charm and dramatic flair is more often used to persuade audiences, as they use these stealth tools of disguise and deception.

Any fiction writer who assumes that a character is typical no doubt runs the risk of stumbling into cliche and stereotype.

Character development is what I value most as a reader of fiction. If an author can manage to create the sort of characters who feel fully real, who I find myself worrying about while I'm walking through the grocery store aisles a week later, that to me is as close to perfection as it gets.

I think all characters are facets of the writer. In a way, they have to be if you're going to write them convincingly.

I believe that, like most writers, my personality comes through in the fiction. So in that respect my writing can't be like any other author's really.