How Michael Connelly Writes… and What He Drinks When He Does It
I wish I could tell you that the interview was with/from me, specifically for Storyfix. But this link is from The Daily Beast (click it to get to the interview, people are MISSING THIS, so I’m bolding this… so YOU won’t) was sent to me, and I’m honored to share it, typos and all (those aren’t mine, either).
In case you still missed it, CLICK HERE to read the article.
I’m particularly happy to see that he calls out one of “my” six realms of Story Physics as key to making a novel work (and not remotely to the exclusion of the others), using the exact same key word. This is like putting forth a theory and hearing Einstein echo your thoughts… which doesn’t make you Einstein, it just makes you relevant.
I’ve never met Michael Connelly, whom, if you aren’t familiar with him, you should Google. Or check him out on Amazon.com, where his Author Page provides a nice 101 on his ouvre, which will enhance this article for you. There is no bigger contemporary name in the bookstore… any bookstore.
I do have three tenuous connections with him, though.
Okay, two, and one of my own concoction.
I saw him well over ten years ago at a signing at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR. There were about three hundred folks awaiting his arrival, most with multiple books in hand for signing, which I estimated would take him until dawn to complete. I remember him strolling in, Starbucks in hand, looking surprised and sheepish when he saw the size of the crowd. I thought that was cool.
Someone in the crowd asked about film adaptations of his book (this was before Blood Work in 2002, and long before the Lincoln Lawyer, which he discusses in this article). He said they’d all been optioned, and - with a poker face – said those options had paid for his Los Angeles house. I thought that was cool, too… as if anyone in the room could relate to that.
Not long after, in a stunning feat of naivete, I emailed him (through his website; no, I don’t have his personal email, fat chance) prior to the publication of my first book (Darkness Bound, which has just been republished by Turner Publishing), asking for a blurb. That happens all the time to A-List writers, by the way, and unless you have a personal connection you have, like, ZERO chance of it happening. Didn’t happen for me, either (though the publisher, Penguin Putnam, scored a couple of A-minus list blurbs), but here’s what was amazing: he answered me. Unlike about 20 other known names who couldn’t and still can’t dust the guy’s keyboard, who didn’t answer. I thought that was classy. I’ve since learned — as you are about to experience – that everything the guy does and says is classy.
And finally, the third one is… well, let me know if you can figure it out (because I can barely speak it aloud, much less write it down). It’s a connection through reference, that’s the hint. Free book to anyone who gets it.
Enjoy the article. Worth the time if you’d like a peek behind the curtain of process for a writer whose work will be remembered for decades after he, and us, are gone.
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Useless but fun sidebar: if you’re a reader here you probably have read the posts by Art Holcomb. If you ever wondered what Art looks like, I’ll just say this: he’s a dead ringer for Michael Connelly. Like, twins separated at birth kind of close.
Also… speaking of interviews… I have recently completed an interview with Phillip Margolin, who it could be argued is the Michael Connelly of legal thrillers (lawyers writing mystery/thrillers about lawyers). Look for that here in about a week.
How Michael Connelly Writes… and What He Drinks When He Does It is a post from: Larry Brooks at storyfix.com
