What being a lawyer taught John Grisham about writing novels
ReThinking
TED
4.7 • 626 Ratings
🗓️ 14 October 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
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Summary
John Grisham is the author of over 50 #1 bestselling novels, including A Time To Kill and The Pelican Brief—but before he became the preeminent writer of legal thrillers, he had a tumultuous career as a lawyer. Adam and John discuss how John’s experience in the courtroom inspires his fiction, and how it has continued to shape his perspective on storytelling and criminal justice. They also dig into John’s writing process, unpack his feelings of doubt that still linger after success, and reflect on the moment that changed his mind about the death penalty.
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Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: John Grisham (Instagram: @johngrisham | Website: https://jgrisham.com/)
Links
https://www.facebook.com/JohnGrisham/
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| 0:00.0 | Claire worked in the marketing department for an up-and-coming artisan bakery. |
| 0:05.0 | Unfortunately, the artisan bakery in question was so up-and-coming. |
| 0:10.0 | Nobody actually knew it existed. |
| 0:13.0 | But then she had the really good idea to use Canva to create a business plan. |
| 0:18.0 | It looked good, Really, really good. |
| 0:23.0 | Their investors thought so too. |
| 0:27.6 | And now their hotcakes are selling like, well, exactly. |
| 0:29.3 | Thanks, Canber. |
| 0:31.6 | Gina's a muncher. |
| 0:33.5 | Jackson Nibbler. |
| 0:36.3 | Lucy likes to linger. But not for too long |
| 0:39.7 | And Harry |
| 0:40.8 | Thank you Harry |
| 0:43.1 | Macardo is the crunchy biscuit stick |
| 0:45.5 | dipped in smooth milk chocolate |
| 0:47.3 | And makes other biscuits look so |
| 0:48.8 | Ordinary |
| 0:49.7 | Macado is deliciously Moorish |
| 0:52.3 | However you enjoy it |
| 0:53.5 | Make every day more Macardo. |
| 0:56.5 | Grab a pack in your local store today. |
| 0:58.5 | Find Macardo in the Biscuit Isle. |
... |
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