Writing Techniques
When starting a book, the story is not always clear but Connelly has a hunch where it is going. The books often reference world events, such as September 11 or the beating of Rodney King. Even events that might not be considered as world changing are included in some of the books because they are of personal interest to Connelly. In Angels Flight, Detective Bosch investigates the murder of an eleven-year old girl. This was written during Connelly’s early years as a father of a daughter and it hit close to home. According to Connelly, he didn’t mean to write about the biggest fear of his life, it just came out that way.
Detective Bosch’s life usually changes in harmony with Connelly’s own life. While Connelly moved 3,000 miles across the country to Florida, Bosch had some life changing experiences that sent him in a new direction in the book written at this time, City of Bones. According to Connelly, his "real" job is to write about Bosch, and his purpose in bringing McCaleb and Bosch together in A Darkness More Than Night was to use McCaleb as a tool to look at Bosch from another perspective and keep the character interesting.
Read more about this topic: Michael Connelly
Famous quotes containing the words writing and/or techniques:
“The importance to the writer of first writing must be out of all proportion of the actual value of what is written.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“The techniques of opening conversation are universal. I knew long ago and rediscovered that the best way to attract attention, help, and conversation is to be lost. A man who seeing his mother starving to death on a path kicks her in the stomach to clear the way, will cheerfully devote several hours of his time giving wrong directions to a total stranger who claims to be lost.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)