I've been writing since I was quite young. It was a way to capture all the exciting stories running through my head, and a way to emulate the authors who gave me so much pleasure. Certainly, writing and reading could be an escape from the harsher aspects of my reality, but I felt them more as a learning experience - learning how people could interact with each other in ways that were not common in my family. A refuge rather than an escape, and a bit like opening an encyclopedia of the mind. The best writers interpreted reality, even in magical or fantastical worlds. The people seemed real, and the emotions rang true.
I rarely read exclusively for plot, though I loved a good story. My perfect book was a combination of riveting storyline and in-depth characterization. I wanted to know what went on inside the heads of the characters, how they felt and thought. That's why novels always seemed to superior to movies, to me. You can't do much internal dialogue in a movie! People were something of a mystery, and only a novelist seemed able to help me understand.
I rarely read exclusively for plot, though I loved a good story. My perfect book was a combination of riveting storyline and in-depth characterization. I wanted to know what went on inside the heads of the characters, how they felt and thought. That's why novels always seemed to superior to movies, to me. You can't do much internal dialogue in a movie! People were something of a mystery, and only a novelist seemed able to help me understand.