The Role of Good Writing is
No Mystery to Novelist Michael Connelly
By Steve Echeverria Jr.
The Record, Stockton, Calif.

St. Petersburg, Fla. Sept. 20 -- To novelist Michael Connelly, it's no mystery.

The skills he perfected as a crime beat reporter -- rigorous work ethic and painstaking attention to detail -- helped him become a bestselling mystery writer. And they're the same tools, said Connelly, that feature writers use.

The mystery author and former journalist spoke Sept. 20 at the 57th annual convention of the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors.

During his 30-minute luncheon conversation, Connelly spoke about his transition from journalist to novelist, the invaluable training journalism gave him, and the lack of literary respect given to the crime novel. All the while the former Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and Los Angeles Times reporter drew parallels between feature and mystery writers.

From the onset, Connelly wanted to clear something up about his "transition." He didn't have one.

"I always wanted to be a novelist before being a journalist," said the soft-spoken writer, who wore a blue T-shirt, black slacks and an intense look behind round-rimmed glasses. "Journalism was a means to an end."

Still, Connelly's 15 years as a reporter gave him the foundation to write novels. He pointed to constant writing, consistent attention to "perfecting the craft," and giving his stories a sense of immediacy.

Most important, reporting made him focus on the small details. "Those telling details are important to feature stories and novels," Connelly said. "I'm plowing the same fields as feature writers."

He has written 13 novels, several of which have garnered literary awards and become bestsellers. One, "Blood Work," was made into a movie starring Clint Eastwood in 2002. Along the way, he has enjoyed leaving behind one of the journalism's most sacred rules.

"Accuracy gets in the way of the story. So now I pride myself on being a manipulator of facts," he said. "I couldn't do that as a journalist."

Mixing gritty fiction with grittier facts has brought success, sort of. Connelly admits being frustrated with American readers' lack of appreciation for the genre.

Most see crime novels merely as entertainment, said Connelly, who is president of the Mystery Writers of America. "But there's more there ... The crime novel is a powerful means of telling people what's going on in the world."

He has written about racism, corporate greed, and terrorism in his books. Connelly's latest novel, "Lost Light," touches on civil liberties and the Patriot Act.

Those irritations aside, Connelly ended his speech by telling editors and reporters about a story he worked on during his days in Ft. Lauderdale, and a "writing epiphany" it produced. He was spending time with the homicide squad, and on visits to crime scenes Connelly noticed something about the sergeant.

At each scene, the sergeant would take his eyeglasses off his nose, put them in his mouth, and crouch beside the body. "He would ... look at it for a solemn moment that would last five minutes."

On his last day with the squad, Connelly was sitting in the sergeant's office. "He was very exhausted," Connelly said. It had been a rough week. The sergeant's eyeglasses were off again, and when Connelly looked at them atop the desk he found his literary gem. "I looked at his glasses and noticed a deep groove on one of the (arms). He would clinch his teeth on it."

It was a telling detail that has stuck with Connelly all these years. "And as writers we're always in pursuit of that telling detail."

Steve Echeverria Jr. is a pop culture writer and columnist for The Record in Stockton, Ca., and a 2003 AASFE Fellow. He can be reached by phone at (209) 943-8571 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .