Some things, I think, like fairy books and secret doors, are only meant to be found by children. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
My grandmother was a psychiatrist and possibly the ultimate of all skeptics. But even she couldn’t explain the strange noises we so often heard in the attic. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
Poetry taught me a great deal about language and images, but when it came to plotting, I was stumped. It’s been very much a learn-by-doing thing for me. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
I think of setting as almost a character of its own, influencing the other characters in ways they’re not even aware of. So much of the success of a good ghost story rides on creating a creepy atmosphere; details of the landscape itself can help create a sense of dread. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
Do me a favor – right now, today, start a list of all your crazy obsessions, the things that get your heart pumping, that wake you up in the middle of the night. Put it above your desk and use it to guide you, to jumpstart your writing each and every day. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
I’ve never done a sequel – so far, there have been too many new stories and characters calling my name. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
I think we all have a kind of dark side, and that’s what keeps life – and characters – interesting. That’s one of the things that I’m drawn to write about again and again, the secrets we keep and how they shape us. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
You can have the greatest characters in the world and write beautifully, but if nothing’s happening, the story falls on its face pretty quickly. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
I absolutely love writing about the things that scare me, the things that keep me up at night. I don’t quite know why. Perhaps because so many things do scare me, and this is my subconscious way of trying to exercise some control over things that go bump in the night! Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
One exercise I always do when I’m getting to know a character is ask her to tell me her secrets. Sit down with a pen and paper, and start with, ‘I never told anybody…’ and go from there, writing in the voice of your character. Jennifer McMahon Read Quote
