Plot Quotations | Page 2

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

One of the things I learned as a young semiotics nerd was that if you have plot moving forward, no matter how banal the facts of it, simply the fact that the plot is rolling forward makes you wonder what's going to happen next, which creates suspense. So you can control peoples' attention simply by having things move forward in a story.

One difference between film noir and more straightforward crime pictures is that noir is more open to human flaws and likes to embed them in twisty plot lines.

I write fast. But it takes me a while to get going. It's very important for me to see my whole plot. I have to see the end first because I like a surprise in the end. Which is why I let characters and plot gestate in my mind.

I just focus on getting the first scene right, with a few lines about the overall plot, and then the book grows organically.

The Carrie in the plot was too much like the Carrie in the book. She smoked, she swore a lot, she was very hard, very cynical. I could never have pulled it off.

A loving mother-son relationship is always a plot or outwitting of some kind. 'Don't tell anyone, but...' my mother was always saying to me - when I wasn't saying it to her.

Storytelling is about two things; it's about character and plot.

Once a novel gets going and I know it is viable, I don't then worry about plot or themes. These things will come in almost automatically because the characters are now pulling the story.

DePaul's plot to deny me tenure had nothing to do with my faults. In fact, and ironically, it viciously attacked me and destroyed my career because of my virtues. Which, although few in number, they still found threatening.

You learn different things through fiction. Historians are always making a plot about how certain things came to happen. Whereas a novelist looks at tiny little things and builds up a sort of map, like a painting, so that you see the shapes of things.

Plot is not my forte. It's like I have to live in my head in the book for a while before I figure out what the story is... My process is a bit messier.

My writing has always been what you call 'narrative fiction' in the sense that it's got very strong plots and twists at the end.

Having a sense of purpose is having a sense of self. A course to plot is a destination to hope for.

I have my tombstone already. A tombstone company in the East gave it to me when I jumped Snake Canyon. My plot is in Montana.

Movies are all about plot. Theater, even if it's story heavy, it's about ideas.

The first black president was a hotter plot line than the first woman president.

The initial attraction of a political convention was that often the outcome was not preordained. There was at least some element of surprise. But, now it's like tuning in to a movie where you already know the plot and the ending. It's just not that interesting.

With fiction, you can talk about plot, character and narrative, whereas a poem brings home the fact that everything that happens in a work of literature happens in terms of language. And this is daunting stuff to deal with.

There must be a better reason to have a baby than to provide a plot point in a rom-com. Don't you think?

I don't plot my books rigidly, follow a preconceived structure. A novel mustn't be a closed system - it's a quest.

I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.

Storytelling is ultimately a creative act of pattern recognition. Through characters, plot and setting, a writer creates places where previously invisible truths become visible. Or the storyteller posits a series of dots that the reader can connect.

I believe in plot, in development of character, in the effect of the passage of time, in a good story - better than something you might find in the newspaper. And I believe a novel should be as complicated and involved as you're capable of making it.

I did green screen for the first time! I wouldn't like to do a whole movie of green screen, though. You kind of forget the plot a little - like being in a Broadway play and doing it over and over and forgetting your line halfway through.

In addition to the wishes of the client, the position, orientation, and size of the plot also play an important role in determining the final plan of the house. The 'where' and 'how' of the exterior then follows naturally from all of that.

In 2008, while the film version of my book 'Choke' was coming to market, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. That meant that I had to appear in public to promote a comedy about a son trying to save his dying mother - the plot of Choke - while privately I was caring for my own dying mother. It was torture.

In constructing the plot and working it out with the proper diction, the poet should place the scene, as far as possible, before his eyes. In this way, seeing everything with the utmost vividness, as if he were a spectator of the action, he will discover what is in keeping with it, and be most unlikely to overlook inconsistencies.

Younger people have greatest fears. Why is that? Because they don't know the plot. They don't know their own individual plot... they don't know what's going to happen to them.

It's hard to write a good plot, it's very hard.

Plot exposition that can be gently wound out by the authorial voice and internal monologue of a character in the length of a page has to be delivered in a matter of seconds on the stage.

I think the great thing about the Jack Ryan films is that the plot and the story always take center stage. If you've done your job as the actor portraying Jack Ryan, you are present enough to make an impact, but you let the story shine.

You can't remember the plot of the Dr Who movie because it didn't have one, just a lot of plot holes strung together. It did have a lot of flashing lights, though.

Sometimes, like in 'Invisible Monsters,' I get too out of control, and instead of a plot point every chapter, I want a plot point in every sentence.

If you let the plot be determined by what you feel is in the character's mind at that point, it may not turn out to be a very good play, but at least it will be a play where people are behaving in a kind of truthful way.

I work on one book at a time. And yes, I am immersed. Six days a week for four to six hours a day. In between books, I stop writing for as much as two to three months, but during that time, I do research and think, plot and plan the book.

I wish we could say ... that this is a time for peaceful remembrance, that we were gathering today to commemorate a danger that had long since past, ... ... But we cannot. The enemy, though seriously weakened and continuously under pressure, continues to plot attacks and the danger they pose to the free world is real and present.

One of the things our movie is going to deal with is what happened in 60 years. Which world was better? Sixty years ago or now? Within, obviously, a kick-ass plot and all the stuff that you've come to expect from a superhero movie.

One thing that we learned that we published on our blog post is that uniformly, men lie about their height by almost exactly two inches. So if you look at a plot of census bureau data on the distribution of men's heights in the U.S. and you plot men's heights on OKCupid, it is exactly shifted two inches to the left.

Plot is a framework on which to drape other things. So once that's working, I can just let it go and do all the stuff that I love - 'Trojan horse' it. There are so many great YA heroines, and that's fantastic, but what about the emotionally complex boy out there? That's who I tend to write about.

Plot is what happens in your story. Every story needs structure, just as every body needs a skeleton. It is how you 'flesh out and clothe' your structure that makes each story unique.

Plot, plot and more plot. Many layers to the storytelling and a huge cast of characters that are very well developed,

No good opera plot can be sensible:... people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.

Much like 24, Prison Break is packed with multiple plot twists.

Mr. Fortier was the best, the most damning, the most direct and the only witness who could provide direct evidence of the planning, preparation, motivation and execution of the bomb plot of (Timothy) McVeigh and (Terry) Nichols.

She can guarantee to move a million copies on the newsstand. Though Aniston is still huge, I'd say Angelina managed to one-up her again by getting pregnant. Now, she's got a more interesting plot line, and readers are going to keep watching that for a long, long time.

Some movies I see today have the most dramatic plot points but the actors are not playing them dramatically.

The CIA has a plot...they've used before to get rid of world leaders. Only problem...is convincing Hussein...to fly to Dallas.

I'm frustrated when I see movies in which I feel like the plot is being told to me instead of shown to me.

Each piece of dialogue MUST be "something happening". . .The "amusing" for its OWN sake should above all be censored. . .The functional use of dialogue for the plot must be the first thing in the writer's mind. Where functional usefulness cannot be established, dialogue must be left out.

Plot is the knowing of destination.

Characters should on the whole, be under rather than over articulate. What they intend to say should be more evident, more striking (because of its greater inner importance to the plot) than what they arrive at saying.

It's easy now, now that it's a story. When you were going through it, it was life. Always much harder to get the plot line on.

I hate SF books that think all you need to make a book is cool technology and mind-bending ideas without a decent plot or characters. And I hate when fantasy books are allowed to ramble off into five hundred page diatribes which don't advance the story one bit.

I was involved in the students' union and I had a meeting in London, chaired by the president of the students' union Charles Clarke (now Home Secretary). Howard had no plans for the weekend, so we hatched this plot whereby I took the money for the train fare, but, instead of getting the train, he could borrow a car off a friend, the train fare would pay for petrol and we could stop at his friend Richard's house in Reading,

There are the characters who die but who you follow after death, and they often lead much more interesting lives after they are dead! So the characters usually drive me along, but occasionally the plot has to come first. It can get sticky.

He lied so the plot could proceed unimpeded.

He lied so the plot could proceed unimpeded. With that lie, he caused the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. He rejoiced in the death and destruction.

I couldn't really understand the basic plot of The World Is Not Enough. What does Bond have to do with that? And to have M in Azerbaijan? For what purpose would M travel there?.And what was exactly the goal of the Villain in that one? So complicated.

I am thrilled that we are here to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate. Westgate Resorts is one of the largest and most successful vacation ownership companies in the world, and this incredible building will dramatically increase guest traffic, room count and the overall Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino experience. I could not be more pleased to be working with David Siegel, a pioneer and visionary in the tourism industry. The development of this plot of land, coupled with the complete redesign of our facade and casino, and the agreement with the shopping mall on enhanced entrances, including access to the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate, has created a seamless and completely integrated resort complex. I would like to thank David Edelstein and Boulevard Invests for working diligently with us on integrating our collective properties.

For years, I sort of would try to write a story that somehow fit the title. And I don't think it happened for maybe another four years that I actually thought of a story, the plot of a story that corresponded to that phrase.

If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations,

I earned my Ph.D. in philosophy, and one of my specializations was the logic and mathematics of game theory. I've also got a degree in drama, so I know about stories, characterizations, plot arcs, and the like. Lots of game designers can do one or the other: I've got the skills for both.

I believe that if the story is fleshed out and the characters more believable, the reader is more likely to take the journey with them. In addition, the plot can be more complex. My characters are very real to me, and I want each of my characters to be different.

We've got to haveWe plot to haveFor it's so dreary not to haveThat certain thing called the Boy Friend.

He was born in Germantown, just outside of Memphis. There's a family plot there.

I find inspiration in many places. Sometimes music gives me the kernel of a story. Sometimes it's dissatisfaction with the plot of a movie or a book that gets me thinking. Sometimes it's love of a movie or book.

I find that I am much slower in the beginning of a book. I am thinking of the plot, of the characters and who they are, and where they are going. I often throw out a lot of the writing I start with, because the characters and plot improve as I write. Or perhaps I should say it is my hope they will improve as I write.

Local teenagers killed in a car crash is a suburban legend, a stock plot line.

I suppose it's possible that a writer would have feeling for his characters, but I can't see how, because writing is such a meticulous, intricate, technical business. I wish I could say that I love my characters and that frequently they take over the book and run away with the plot and so on. But they don't exist.

I was allowed to film in the biggest mosque in India and when I told the imam the plot of the movie he started to laugh,

I talk to Dom all the time, but he still won't tell me any of the good plot twists for next season's 'Lost.'

J.K. Rowling said Bellatrix's role was going to be significant in the last one, when I showed some reluctance in playing a tiny bit part. Up front, they said, 'You're very significant in the last one.' But significant could mean a lot of things. That could just mean a significant plot point. Doesn't necessarily equal big part.

It is a very interesting piece, he says. It has been around a long time and this is a particularly good, vital and lively production full of laughs, gayety and a lot of wit. I think part of the intrigue of the play and the plot is the relationship with Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins. Pickering is always there as a kind of buffer, soother of egos, perhaps. And it's just a very good dramatic piece of theatre.

I was here when the cemetery was dedicated last fall. We had a good turnout then and a good turnout now. I'm so impressed with the cemetery that I'm going to pick out a plot for myself.

It doesn't really give us any more indication of whether this was a plot that was derailed or preempted, or a plot that was more in the realm of an idle daydream.

I think invariably when you are dealing with relationships, the films really center on that, and the plot is really born out of that. That's the most core part of a relationship: intimacy, I think, whether it's expressed or not.

I was a theater actor back in the U.K., and you knew the whole play, so you could plot your storyline and character. And then I did 'Lost' and didn't know, and it was kind of frustrating, but I enjoyed it.

Today's verdict makes clear that we can prevent acts of terrorism by winning convictions against those who would plot to commit violence against our citizenry in the name of an extremist cause.

We have uncovered a plot by coup leaders, their civilian supporters and communist insurgents to take military and government officials hostage and force the President to step down and then install a transition government.

I was Paul Schrader's assistant for six months before I went to film school, and he's very much about knowing what's going to happen on every page before you even start writing dialogue - the entire plot and character arcs are mapped out.

The actions taken by the family of nations are a just and essential step in ridding the world of the global threat of terrorism and bringing to justice those who plot the destruction of peaceful and innocent people. I fully support the president's actions.

That's the plot of the movie. The dogs' struggle for survival, without people, after they are stranded. Also, instead of 13 dogs being left, only eight get left behind in the movie.

Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut. The plot thickens.

Members walk into the chamber full of hatred. They believe the worst lies about the other side. Two senators stopped by my office just a few hours ago. Why? They had a plot to nail somebody on the other side. That's what Congress has come to.

We can't even plot it on a map.

We have a fun record of ripping off Shakespeare. He was brilliant with narrative and complex, twisty plot turns.

That would be just what Davis needs. There is nothing Gray Davis would like more than to be able to talk about the recall as a nefarious plot by out-of-state Republicans.

The fact is that plot has brought out the best in me.

The main plot line is simple: Getting your character to the foot of the tree, getting him up the tree, and then figuring out how to get him down again.

[On the movie "American Hot Wax:] A plot so thin you could thread a needle with it.

We want to grow the idea of reading gardens across the country. Our aim is to inspire. We want people to see a neglected plot and envision a reading garden to improve the environment and lives.

I confess that I cannot understand how we can plot, lie, cheat and commit murder abroad and remain humane, honorable, trustworthy and trusted at home.

Plots behind plots, plans behind plans. There was always another secret.

I don't really care about plot; I want to have a page-turner in a different kind of way.

My stories do have plot. They're not just scattered language; they're controlled, toward an end.

We tolerate differences of opinion in people who are familiar to us. But differences of opinion in people we do not know sound like heresy or plots.

This world of ours has been constructed like a superbly written novel: we pursue the tale with avidity, hoping to discover the plot.

I know you can't see it, not you, Ed, but maybe if I tell you the whole plot you'll understand it this once, because even now I want you to see it. I don't love you anymore, of course I don't, but there's still something I can show you. You know I want to be a director, but you never truly see the movies in my head and that, Ed, is why we broke up.

I don't relax, I don't celebrate. I sit and plot.