First comes an idea. Then, characters begin to evolve out of the landscape of that idea. And then, finally, characters dominate: plot is simply a function of what these people might do or be. Everything has to flow from their personalities; otherwise it will not be emotionally engaging, or plausible.
Robert HarrisEgyptologists, skilled in piecing together the papyri of lost civilisations, suddenly discovered that the same talent could be applied to working out the pattern of German radio traffic.
Robert HarrisIn a way I'm almost more rueful about the notion of having a non-ideological Labour party than I am about the personality of Tony Blair.
Robert Harris