John Grisham and David Baldacci Talk About Their Very Different Writing Styles

Last week, I had the opportunity to hear a conversation between John Grisham and David Baldacci, two of the best thriller writers working today. Grisham was at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC, promoting his new novel, The French Illusion, and Baldacci was conducting the interview, but it had a level of informality because the two have known each other for 30 years.

It was a great conversation, but what jumped out to me was their different approaches to sitting down to write. Grisham, who rose to fame with A Time to Kill, The Firm, and The Pelican Brief and has since written more than 30 books, is very structured. He outlines his novels and then writes every day from 7:00-11:00 AM in a room behind his house in Charlottesville, VA. There is no music, internet, or phones in this room either, so he is completely focused. Grisham is also from Mississippi, and I have to imagine many of his Southern friends and relatives have heard about this setup and said, “Must be nice.”

Baldacci, on the other hand, lives in the greater DC area and has written about the adventures of King and Maxwell, the Camel Club, Amos Decker, and a slew of other characters in a variety of places. One of his most frequent spots is Plaka Grill, a Greek restaurant in Vienna, VA, where people will approach him. Baldacci also does not do an outline for his articles. He just starts with a character and a situation.

I guess the moral of this story is that both of these authors show that there is no set place for doing great writing. It simply boils down to what works for them.

Oh, and they also shared that their books are only available in paperback format in prison libraries because hardback books can kill people. However, I already learned that from watching John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Take a look.