When a writer tries to copy another writer, it's doomed to fail. Sophie Hannah More Quotes by Sophie Hannah More Quotes From Sophie Hannah My characters all have issues, but I don't see that as weird or abnormal because I think in real life there are very few bland, normal people. Sophie Hannah weird think life people I want my books to explore motives which make people think, 'Wow! Imagine the psychological state you'd have to be in for that to be your motive!' Whereas things like blackmail, jealousy - they're rational reasons for committing murder. Sophie Hannah think you jealousy people Try as I might, Agatha Christie is unique. The actual writing style can't be exactly the same, so instead of trying to replicate it exactly, the way I got around it was by inventing a new narrator. Sophie Hannah new style unique way Nobody has ever written as many enjoyable, fun-to-read crime novels as Agatha Christie. It's all about the storytelling and the pleasure of the reader. She doesn't want to be deep or highbrow. Sophie Hannah deep nobody crime want All through childhood, I wrote verses and mysteries. There is, for me, one connection: structure. My poetry is metrical, rhyming. Sophie Hannah connection me childhood poetry My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out with a dead body. I start with an impossible scenario. Opening questions should be mysterious, weird, intriguing, and contain the seeds of the solution. The structure has to be meticulous - I'm a structure freak. Sophie Hannah dead weird start impossible I am trying to write novels for properly clever people, but I also want them to be proper novels that also stick in a person's mind and have an atmosphere about them. Sophie Hannah person i-am mind people With me, even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't be able to cry. Not with somebody there. Because even if I'm talking about bad and upsetting things, if there is somebody else in the room, I am trying to entertain them. If there is somebody there, I am in performance mode. I can only cry if I am on my own. Sophie Hannah i-am my-life me life There are very few well-adjusted people in my books. But I do think that's normal. Because everyone does have their issues and hang-ups. Sophie Hannah books everyone think people If we knew more about psychology, we would be better equipped to deal with other people's psychological damage which they might project onto us. Sophie Hannah project more better people My father, whose hobby was collecting secondhand cricket books, came back from a book fair one day with a copy of 'The Body In The Library.' Sophie Hannah day cricket library father Agatha Christie's writing is incredibly skillful because her books are incredibly intellectually puzzling and challenging. Sophie Hannah her books because writing
