That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.
Interpretation
The best narratives often arise from difficult experiences faced by others.
This quote by Michael Connelly reflects on the paradox that the most compelling stories often originate from tragedy or hardship. It suggests that while individuals may endure painful and challenging moments, those very experiences can serve as rich material for storytelling, transforming personal suffering into art that resonates with others and captures the essence of human resilience.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a writing workshop to inspire budding authors.
I would change very little because I have been very, very fortunate. A lot of things fell into place for me simply by happenstance. When that happens you don't really want to change anything, even if you could. Editorially my regrets are few and for the most part minor. I look back on my first published book and think I held on to it too long, babied it too long.
The fulfillment I get from a good day of writing is addictive and will always bring me back the next day.
I trust the readers to build their own visual images. To me, that's part of the wonder of reading.
I'm going to have to be impressed and feel confident in the people I'm handing a book to - or I'm not going to do it. Once you hand it to them, you're out. You have no control over it.
You can fall in love and make love many times but there is only one bullet with your name etched on the side. And if you are lucky enough to be shot with that bullet then the wound never heals.
I watched 'Kojak' religiously with my father. It was a great bonding time. He loved shows where the stakes were high. Life and death, justice prevailing, things like that. I think that helped set me on the path to what I do now.
Life is for living, not living uptight, see ya somewhere up in the sky.
Life was about spending time together , about having the time to walk together holding hands, talking quietly as the sun go down. It wasn't glamorous, but it was, in many ways, the best that life has to offer. Wasn't that how the old saying went? Who, on their deathbed, ever said they wished they had worked harder? Or spent less time enjoying a quiet afternoon? Or spent less time with their family?
You don't know what kind of day you will have, until evening.
I certainly couldn't have written 'Angela's Ashes' when my mother was alive, because she would have been ashamed.
Radar revs the engine as to say hustle, and we are running through the parking lot, Ben's robe flowing in the wind so that he looks vaguely like a dark wizard, except that his pale skinny legs are visible, and his arms hug plastic bags. I can see the back of Lacey's legs beneath her dress, her calves tight in midstride. I don't know how I look, but I know how I feel: Young. Goofy. Infinite.
I do think that despite my best efforts to resist it, I am now a grown-up. It's due to lots of very difficult decisions that you make over a long period of time - about motherhood, wifehood, and work, and all the things that one has to make decisions about.
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