'Sweat, drudgery . . . but you love it'

“Writing is sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it in order to endure the solitude and the discipline.” – Peter Benchley

 

Born on this date in 1940, Benchley made his mark with the his breakthrough novel Jaws, subsequently made into a blockbuster movie by Steven Spielberg.  Several more of his works also were adapted for cinema, including The Deep. 

 

Benchley was the third generation of Benchley authors.  His father was Nathaniel and grandfather Robert, one of the founders of the famed writing group known as the Algonquin Round Table.  Despite that, Peter struggled to get his foot in the publishing door and was a part-time freelancer when he pitched his idea for Jaws, “one final attempt to stay alive as a writer.”  It was on the bestseller list for nearly a year and he never lost his writing focus again.

 

Much of Benchley's writing beyond his novels was of conservation of our oceans.  That led to the establishment of the annual "Benchley Awards," recognizing those who have dedicated their lives and work to those conservation efforts.

 

Shortly before his death in 2006, Benchley said that while he didn’t have “personal” experience with a Great White Shark much of everything else he wrote was based on things he knew a great deal about.  “Ideas for my stories came to me based on my life.”