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.
Interpretation
Life experiences can inspire creativity in unexpected ways.
In this quote, John Grisham reflects on how his background as a lawyer provided him with unique insights and experiences that ultimately led him to become a writer. He emphasizes that his initial foray into storytelling was not a lifelong aspiration but rather a product of his professional encounters, highlighting how our careers and experiences can shape our creative endeavors.
In practice
During a writing workshop, I shared how John Grisham's quote inspired me to draw from my professional background.
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.
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.
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?'
In order to acquire a growing and lasting respect in society, it is a good thing, if you possess great talent, to give, early in your youth, a very hard kick to the right shin of the society that you love. After that, be a snob.
I also started writing songs because I had this burning activity in my heart and had to express myself.
A beautiful dress may look beautiful on a hanger, but that means nothing. It must be seen on the shoulders, with the movement of the arms, the legs, and the waist.
Fashion, which often seems to be on a path to be bigger, more Instagram-ready, can also achieve its best through sincerity.
One of the attractions of translating 'Heroes' is that it's not the kind of play that I write. If it had been, I probably wouldn't have wanted to translate it. There are no one-liners. It's much more a truthful comedy than a play of dazzling wit.
I do not rewrite unless I am absolutely sure that I can express the material better if I do rewrite it.
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