Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
The author believes his books are naturally visual because of how he writes them.
In plain terms
My books look like movies because I write them that way.
What can you take from it?
Writing style dictates the visual feel of a story.

Where it applies

  • writing fiction
  • making movies
  • reading

Putting it to work

  • focus on imagery
  • show not tell
  • visualize scenes

Questions to consider

  • Is visual storytelling always better?
  • How do you write for the eyes?

Another view

Visual writing might sometimes sacrifice depth for imagery.

More from Lee Child

  1. I love touring. The rest of the year is very solitary, so it's great to get out with real live humans. I love to talk about books - mine or anybody else's. Can…

    Permalink to quote #25
  2. I wanted a happy-go-lucky guy. He has quirks and problems, but the thing is, he doesn't know he's got them. Hence, no tedious self-pity. He's smart and strong,…

    Permalink to quote #27
  3. I just hang out and move on, like Reacher does. I depend on first impressions, because as a drifter, that's all that Reacher ever gets.

    Permalink to quote #24

Related quotes

  1. We wanted a title sequence that started in the fear center of the brain. [When you hear] the sound of a gun being cocked that's in your mouth, the part of you …

    David FincherDavid Fincher quote #2
  2. Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.

    Alfred HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock quote #10
  3. Drama is life with the dull bits left out.

    Alfred HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock quote #21