D. J. MacHale
To write a good mystery you have to know where it will end before you can decide where it will begin... and I've always known where it will end.
A screenplay is really a blueprint for something that will be filmed. Therefore you must always keep in mind that whatever you write is going to be staged, for real.
Storytelling is storytelling. Good stories need compelling characters and interesting conflicts. That's the bottom line no matter what medium you're writing for.
The single best piece of advice I give to aspiring writers is to always write about things that they know. I suggest that they write about people and places and events and conflicts they are familiar with. That way their writing will be real and hopefully readers will respond to it. I try to take my own advice.
To write, you need to find what you love.
It is much more fun to write about villains then heroes. The villains are the ones that think out the scheme, and the heroes just kind of come along for the ride.
My life is an ongoing, ever changing adventure.
I'd love to play the piano, and I'm going to work on it.
I believe that stories find writers, writers don't find stories. With the 'Pendragon' series, I actually had multiple story ideas and decided that instead of writing them individually, I would create a character whose journey would thread them all together.
There are no simple answers in life. There is a good and bad in everyone and everything. No decision is made without consequence. No road is taken that doesn't lead to another. What's important is that those roads always be kept open, for there's no telling what wonder they might lead to.Collection: Taken
There are two types of people in this world. People who hate clowns...and clowns. (Bobby Pendragon)Collection: Hate
Before I can face the future, I must first deal with the past.Collection: Past
Even at the end of the road, read the first sentence, there is a road. Even at the end of the road, a new road stretches out, endless and open, a road that may lead anywhere. To him who will find it, there is always a road.Collection: May
Whenever you look back and say "if" you know you're in trouble. There is no such thing as "if". The only thing that matters is what really happened.Collection: Looks
In my few short years I learned that seeing what's positive about a situation is a lot more fun and gets you a lot further than looking for what might be wrong with it.Collection: Fun
You want to kill me, don't you? And here I thought you and your friends were so righteous. You are just as capable of evil as anyone. Perhaps more so. Yet you believe your brand of evil is justified, so long as it serves your own misguided purposes." --Saint DaneCollection: Believe
You can't have pride without humility. Aggression without tolerance. Strength without compassion. Power without restraint.Collection: Humility
I saw the horrible way that people could treat each other. That may be the saddest thing of all. I saw greed and anger and murder and a total lack of concern for human life. It was a wicked side of the human soul that I saw... and it saddened me to know that such a dark place existed.Collection: Dark
Defeat is most devastating at the moment of victory" Saint DaneCollection: Victory
And so we go.' It's my way of saying that I'm prepared for the next adventure. The next chapter. The next challenge. Whatever comes my way, I'm ready for it. Because that truly is the way it was meant to be.Collection: Adventure
Now it was just the three of us: the leader, the warrior, and the kid about to wet his pants. Guess who I was.Collection: Witty
I stood on the street, staring up at the most normal-looking house in the world. My house. I'd lived there my entire life. It was home. It was safe. It was haunted. The only other explanation was that I was demented. I couldn't say which I was rooting for.Collection: Home
I've made mistakes. More than my share. Hopefully, I've learned from them, but can't guarentee anything. There's only one thing I can promise. I'm taking this to the end." -Bobby PendragonCollection: Mistake
I felt as if I learned a few things. I learned that it's sometimes okay to think like a weenie, so long as you don't act like one—at least not all the time. I learned that it's okay to be wrong, as long as you can admit it and are willing to listen to those who may know better.Collection: Thinking
Mine would be, "We will stand together, he and I. One in victory, one in shame. Only then can I truly own the power of Halla. How sweet the moment of revelation will be, when he learns that he handed it to me." -SD the Pilgrims of RayneCollection: Sweet
I went to the four levers. None of them were marked. There was only one way to figure out which one was the right one. I had to call upon all my Traveler experience and special powers to figure it out. It's called...Eenie, meenie, miney...mo!" -Bobby PendragonCollection: Special
The history of each and every territory is written in the blood of those who died trying to fulfill the aspirations of their ambitious leaders.Collection: Blood
My feelings for you run very deep." - Loor Not deep enought, I guess." - Bobby (The Rivers of Zadaa)Collection: Running
Mark: When did you learn to drive? Courtney: About three seconds ago.Collection: Three
At least I thought it was a wall. It sure felt like one. It was hard. It was flat. It stretched out on either side of me. You know... wall.Collection: Wall
Siry answered with one simple, shattering word. "Veelox.Collection: Simple
Never make the first move." - Loor (The Rivers of Zadaa)Collection: Moving
Seriously. Dados bounce." Bobby in Raven RiseCollection: Ravens
If I fall out, pull this ring? What happens then? I sprout wings and fly?" -Spader in "The Never WarCollection: War
Not just chubby fat, I'm talkin' gordoCollection: Fats
Nights were the worst. I'd try to get some sleep, only to be thrown out of bed and dragged out into the compound for another game of "Let's whack Bobby in the dark!" - Bobby Pendragon, RoZCollection: Sleep
I see you brought along your violent little girlfriend. What a nice surprise!" - Saint Dane (The Reality Bug)Collection: Girlfriend
Looks like it's time to liven up this dead little town!" - Saint Dane (The Reality Bug)Collection: Reality
"Who's Heinz and what's an accordion?"Collection: Accordions
I'm the terrorist, do what I say or I'll terrorize you.Collection: Terrorist
Dont you know... I'm the boggyman."-St. DaneCollection: Knows
There were eleven of us. Each more different than the next. All with the same mindset. Things weren't the way they were meant to be. It was our job to make things right. We were the soldiers of Halla. It was time for us to take it back.Collection: Jobs
There will be no more protests. No more dissension. No more violence. There will be only one voice. The voice of Ravinia. The voice of Halla. Your voice." "There goes freedom of speech," I said.Collection: Ravens
You'd better put sunblock on that skeleton head of yours. You're gonna fry." -BobbyCollection: Skeletons
I have a sudden urge to pee.- SpaderCollection: Urges
Do you know how hard it is to gather seventy thousand people? Especially people who are confused and scared that they might be eaten by hungry dinosaurs?Collection: Confused
We took the elevator back down from the first observation level of the Eiffel Tower and started walking in he direction of the Taj MahalCollection: Taj Mahal
I met Pendragon when I made the journey to the far desert. He is from the tribe known as...as..." Loor was scrambling. Bokka didn't know about the Travelers. I had to bail her out. Yankees," I said. "The Yankees tribe." Hey, what can I say? It was the first thing that came to mind. "It's a strong tribe," I added. "Respected by all...except for our mortal enemies, the Sox tribe. They hate us. Especially the Red ones. Cannibals. Nasty characters.Collection: Strong
Aja gave Loor an up and down once-over. She then said, "Is Loor a man's name or a woman's name?" Ouch. Loor answered, "It is the name of a legendary hero on Zadaa. A woman." Really?" Aja said. "What did she do that was so heroic?" She killed her enemies and ate them.Collection: Hero
Max Rose: Vo? What kind of name is that? Spader: What kind of name is Rose? Isn't that some kind of flower?Collection: Flower