Colin Greenland Quotes

• Plotting is like sex. Plotting is about desire and satisfaction, anticipation and release. You have to arouse your reader's desire to know what happens, to unravel the mystery, to see good triumph. You have to sustain it, keep it warm, feed it, just a little bit, not too much at a time, as your story goes on. That's called suspense. It can bring desire to a frenzy, in which case you are in a good position to bring off a wonderful climax.

  Colin Greenland

  Sex, Writing, Desire

  46 Copy quote

• Plotting isn't like sex, because you can go back and adjust it afterwards. Whether you plan your story beforehand or not, if the climax turns out to be the revelation that the mad professor's anti-gravity device actually works, you must go back and silently delete all those flying cars buzzing around the city on page one. If you want to reveal something, you need to hide it properly first.

  Colin Greenland

  Sex, Writing, Cities

  8 Copy quote

You May Also Like:

Michael Moorcock

Susanna Clarke

John Clute

Neil Gaiman

Storm Thorgerson

China Mieville

Paul J. McAuley

Olaf Stapledon