15 James Patterson Quotes to Inspire Writers

Learn about James’s writing philosophy with quotes straight from the source.

James Patterson on Research:

• “The more you know about, the more likely you are to combine things to make an idea that’s striking.”
• “Research really helps your confidence.”

James Patterson on Success:

• “Don’t set out to write a good thriller. Set out to write a #1 thriller.”
• “If you’re going to write a bestseller … it’s got to work for a lot of people.”

James Patterson on Writer’s Block:

• “Don’t think about the sentences, think about the story. Write the story down.”
• “Do not torture yourself. That’s how people get blocked.”
• “Do not sit there like, ‘Oh I don’t feel like it today. I don’t feel like it tomorrow.’ Feel like it! Do it! Force yourself.”

James Patterson on Crafting Characters:

• “You want your readers to have strong feelings about your characters.”
• “With respect to characters, you want things that really dig deep and say a lot very very quickly, to get us interested in the person.”
• “I need to feel as involved as I want the reader to feel.”

James Patterson on Plot and Suspense:

• “Everything you write should be moving your story forward.”
• “At the end, something has you propel you into the next chapter.”
• “In my opinion, one of the biggest secrets of suspense is setting up questions that the readers must have answered.”

James Patterson on Titles and Covers:

• “Nobody buys a book that they don’t pick up.”
• “You gotta put something out there that gets their attention and gets them curious.”

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