The Firm & Writing Style

The novel I have been writing for what seems like years will include a lengthy trial scene. With that in mind I decided to do a little research into how other authors have approached this difficult art.

Not surprisingly, my research led quite quickly to John Grisham. Considered by many as the number one author of legal fiction, Grisham has published countless highly acclaimed best sellers such as A Time to Kill and The Firm.

Having never read a Grisham, I opted for The Firm. My decision was influenced by having already watched (and really enjoyed) the film version of A Time to Kill starring Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock so I already knew the ending. Incredibly I had never watched The Firm right through so I decided to pay my fiver and download it.

With hindsight, my decision making process was flawed. But more on that later.

So what are my impressions on John Grisham? What stood out immediately is the realisation that everyone has their own particular style, and that every type of writing is acceptable. Of course it's beneficial to pick up little things here and there from your reading but an author must stay true to their own way of putting words down on paper. Others might grumble and complain, point out mistakes and so on, but in attempting to mirror others you will lose yourself.

Grisham has developed a reputation for writing fast paced, tension filled thrillers and its easy to see why. He rarely uses a sentence longer than fifteen to twenty words, which I found interesting. At this fledgling stage of my own development I believe some of my sentences are too long. Granted, not as long as an Emile Zola one but still long! (Seriously have a read at one of Zola's fantastic short stories and see what I mean).

It's also obvious why The Firm succeeded. It's a great story with interesting, talented and yet vulnerable characters. Not only did it get its own film starring Cruise and Hackman but now it's own TV series in the States. Clearly there are some miles left in Mitch McDeere's career.

So why do I regret my decision? Simple. I’m half way through and it's obvious there will be no trial scene, which was why I started it in the first place. That doesn't make it a poor book of course, just not the one I need at this point in my research. I'll still finish it, and enjoy it. Grisham will have provided me with plenty of pointers in style and approach and, when I'm finished, I'll read A Time to Kill.

Hopefully it will have a trial scene!

Have a read at The Firm (if you haven't already) and leave a comment or two about Grisham's style.

ACR