Writing means sharing

“Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions.” – Paulo Coelho 

 Born this day in 1947, Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. His novel The Alchemist, translated into 80 languages, has won him a devoted worldwide audience. 

Coelho told his parents he wanted to be a writer when he was still a teen and they tried to discourage him and get him into law instead.   He tried studying law but dropped out, became a songwriter, and worked as an actor, journalist, and theatre director until his love of creative writing drew him back to his first love.

Many of his 30-plus books are autobiographical in nature, although most are fiction rooted in his life experiences.            

 “When I write a book, I write a book for myself; the reaction is up to the reader,” he said. “It's not my business whether people like or dislike my writing.”  With 210 million (and counting) of his books in print, it’s probably safe to say that they do, indeed, like it.

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