His Secret To Writing Success

“I often will write a scene from three different points of view to find out which has the most tension and which way I’m able to conceal the information I’m trying to conceal.  And that is, at the end of the day, what writing suspense is all about.”– Dan Brown

Born on June 22, 1964, Brown has utilized that technique to perfection.  His thrillers exude suspense and his readers flock to them, having purchased well over 200 million copies since his first success, The DaVinci Code, burst onto the scene in 2003.  Brown's novels are treasure hunts featuring recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes and, of course, conspiracy theories.  They’ve been translated into 52 languages. 

While writing is his life it wasn’t that way until the mid-1990s when he was on vacation, read a thriller by Sidney Sheldon, and decided that’s what he really wanted to do.  Up until then he had been a successful musician, and was a singer, songwriter and pianist in Hollywood, where he also taught music at the prestigious Beverly Hills Preparatory School.     A member of the National Academy of Songwriters, he had been a frequent participant in that organization’s events, but once he made the move to be a writer he dropped music and went full bore into his new field – for which millions of readers are forever grateful. 

 

 Brown likes to use the real people in his life as key characters. It’s a a great writing technique that every writer should consider and certainly helps answer that old question, “Where do you get your characters?”       

                                          When asked the secret to his success, he simply says, “Hard work.  I still get up every morning at 4 a.m.  I write seven days a week, including Christmas.  I still face a blank page every morning, and my characters don’t really care how many books I’ve sold.”

 

Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.