There seem to be two ways of generating interest from the reader: withholding information or by telling the reader on the first page exactly what's going to happen. Christopher Bollen More Quotes by Christopher Bollen More Quotes From Christopher Bollen It's always surprised me that mainstream America had the good taste to like R.E.M. It doesn't have the digestible quality the general public tends to look for in its favorite musicians. Christopher Bollen musician quality america There's a structure to a detective story that I can easily understand. I understand playing that particular game. It's like solving a puzzle. Or creating a puzzle. Christopher Bollen creating games stories The first horror movie I saw, in first or second grade, was My Bloody Valentine [1981], where there's a deranged killer in a miner mask stalking a small coal town. Christopher Bollen coal valentine towns I was never afraid on stage. That's where I was the least afraid. I could just do what I do and I had the amplification and the lights. Christopher Bollen amplification stage light I'm really much better at asking questions than answering them, since asking questions is like a constant deflection of oneself. Christopher Bollen oneself I like to be alone, I mean, I really love to be alone more than anything else, and I don't really like to talk about myself to death, and I don't like to share too much, and I don't really have dreams of extreme fame or even extreme respect. Christopher Bollen dream fame mean People aren't doing whodunits anymore. Christopher Bollen people It's really hard to write about art in general. But it's exceptionally hard to fictionalize art and make work that isn't a parody, or is something that could withstand critique and exist in the art world as a valuable object, or a true piece. Christopher Bollen writing world art Safety, reputation, their lives, their friends, and their world. Writers typically try to avoid that because it's not expedient. Christopher Bollen safety trying world There are certain moments where artwork might seem like it's part of someone's career - if you really know the art world - , but I did my best to prevent that overlap. Christopher Bollen moments world art If you've been in the art world for more than eight years, you realize another generation is making the exact same work as the previous generation - but treating it like it's never been done before. It becomes very cyclical very quickly. Christopher Bollen done world art Secrets are never secure because they are always at risk of being found out. Christopher Bollen risk secret I don't think secrets are a bad thing. I think there's this idea that everything needs to be transparent in order for it to be free. Christopher Bollen secret thinking When you create a fence, you keep people out, but you also limit your mobility. Christopher Bollen fence people It's just as political, what you do in the bedroom is just as political as what you do in public. Christopher Bollen bedroom political Why I love chess and tennis - the volleying aspect, and the fact that your competitors' reactions and motivations and bluffs come into the game itself. Christopher Bollen tennis motivation games I'm convinced I was the only kid ever who had a Death on the Nile [1978] movie poster and a Murder on the Orient Express [1974] movie poster on his bedroom walls. Christopher Bollen wall murder kids I was obsessed with Agatha Christie in sixth grade. Christopher Bollen sixth-grade grades obsessed I also remember when I watched Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer [1990] at, like, age 15. That scared the crap out of me. Because it didn't operate inside the usual conventions of the horror genre in the way that I could accept. I can accept horny teenager counselors being murdered at camp. But I couldn't accept the derangement of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, which was that anyone could be murdered at any moment - whole families, with no build-up music and no meaning. It terrified me. Christopher Bollen horny horror-genre teenager You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving the puzzle. Christopher Bollen stories writing trying
