I used to walk in a bookstore and see all these books on the walls. And I would say, 'Who wants to hear from me? What do I have to add to all of this?'
Interpretation
This quote expresses feelings of self-doubt and the struggle to find one's voice amid a wealth of knowledge.
John Grisham reflects on his journey as an author and the initial feelings of inadequacy he experienced when faced with the vast array of literature available in bookstores. This introspection highlights a common challenge for many aspiring writers and creators: the belief that their contributions may not be valuable or unique compared to the established works of others.
In practice
In a writing workshop to encourage budding authors.
Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff.
Death row is a nightmare to serial killers and ax murderers. For an innocent man, it's a life of mental torture that the human spirit is not equipped to survive.
An outline is crucial. It saves so much time. When you write suspense, you have to know where you're going because you have to drop little hints along the way. With the outline, I always know where the story is going. So before I ever write, I prepare an outline of 40 or 50 pages.
I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. I wrote only after witnessing a trial.
Writing's still the most difficult job I've ever had - but it's worth it.
Ten years from now I plan to be sitting here, looking out over my land. I hope I'll be writing books, but if not, I'll be on my pond fishing with my kids. I feel like the luckiest guy I know.
A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser.
Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.
To me, the newspaper business was a way to learn about life and how things worked in the real world and how people spoke. You learn all the skills - you learn to listen, you learn to take notes - everything you use later as a novelist was valuable training in the newspaper world. But I always wanted to write novels.
They lack suggestive power. And when a book lacks suggestive power, however hard it hits the surface of the mind it cannot penetrate within.
Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
As parents, we teach our kids about things we feel competent in. That's why so many parents don't teach their kids about money.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.