Good writing requires a character with a voice. Usually, the first sound bite is not the whole story.

In the extremity of war, character is revealed.

Partly what I'm writing about is the way taboos get toppled.

Character is destiny, and politicians usually get the scandals they deserve, with a sense of inevitability about them.

I've read a lot of war writing, even World War I writing, the British war poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves's memoir 'Goodbye to All That,' and a civilian memoir, 'Testament of Youth,' by Vera Brittain.

We're reduced to writing eight-minute acts. It's very difficult storytelling, especially for character scenes. An hour is now 41 minutes, and that's a terrible trim.