Who are you?
I’m Bryan Gruley. Born in Detroit, have lived in Brighton, MI; Howell, MI; Kalamazoo, MI; suburban Detroit; Herndon, VA; Chicago, IL; St. Petersburg, FL; and now, beautiful Traverse City, MI. I retired after 41 years as a journalist with a number of publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek.
What do you write?
I started writing when I was in second grade at St. Gemma Elementary in Detroit. I loved Hardy Boys mysteries so much that I invented my own version, the Anderson Twins, Chip and Scott. I wrote stories out on looseleaf paper and read them aloud to my class. I haven’t stopped writing since, though I have not read to any second-grade classes recently.
I don’t avoid any particular words or themes. I write what I write and hope people like it. If they don’t, that’s fine. I mean, seriously, the number of readers you are likely to satisfy as a percentage of the world is tiny, even if you’re James Patterson.
I love what I do and have loved it since the Anderson Twins stories. It’s what I was made to do. I think I’m pretty good at it. I love other things, like hockey and golf, but I pretty much suck at those. If you love something, it’s easier to just keep plugging away. I love writing. I take great pleasure in knowing that I just wrote a good scene or invented a strong character.
Where do you write?
I can write anywhere. I grew up writing in noisy, chaotic newsrooms, so it’s easy for me to shut out the distractions and write. On planes and trains, in bars and airports (and airport bars), on the shores of lakes and rivers. Anywhere. I usually write on my laptop (as I am now) but sometimes I’ll take notes or even sketch a short scene in my journal. I’ve been using uni ball Vision Elite gel pens for years. But I mark up print-outs with pencils equipped with erasers. Highlighters are my friends.
When do you write?
When I had a fulltime journalism job, I would wake early and write for one-and-a-half or two hours, then go to my job. As a retiree, writing times vary, depending on what else I happen to be doing: reading, hockey, golf, travel, doing stuff with my wife, Pam. Could be morning, could be afternoon. Never after 5 p.m. (my novelist pal Steve Hamilton likes to write from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Crazy.). I don’t set word count goals. But 500 words is a good day, 1,000 even better. My publisher sets a months-away deadline that I always meet. I set semi-hazy deadlines for myself: so many words by the end of the month, so many words a week. I tend to pile up more words per day/week as I near the end of a novel.
Why do you write?
I do it because it’s what I was made to do. It’s God’s gift to me, and I’d be remiss not to use it. I am motivated by the desire to figure out a story. I start with a premise—a Zamboni driver is accused of a brutal double murder—and then I start writing, trying to imagine what really happened. I’m inspired by the simple act of banging on a keyboard. I have a Jack London saying taped to my laptop: “You can’t wait around for inspiration. You have to hunt it down with a club.”
How do you overcome writer's block?
I don’t experience “writer’s block.” The way to get going is to put your fingers on a keyboard and start writing, whatever it is, however bad or good you think it is. First rule of writing: Ass in chair. My author pal Marcus Sakey likes to say, “Plumbers can’t get blocked.” Good point.
Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?
I enjoy golf, ice hockey, hanging with my kids and grandkids, sitting on our screened-in porch with coffee and word games, going out to dinner with my wife Pam, and rooting for Notre Dame football and Detroit Red Wings hockey. And I like a cold beer or two, or a glass of red.
My thanks to Bryan Gruley for today's interview.