In his fascinating memoir, PLOT TWIST --- which has the catchy subtitle “Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft” --- bestselling author Harlan Coben shares with us his personal take on writing.

Coben was no overnight sensation. He accepted an advance of $5,000 for his first novel, DEAL BREAKER, a Myron Bolitar story. By the time he got to the fourth book in that series, BACK SPIN, the advance had risen to just $6,000.

PLOT TWIST never gets self-indulgent. Coben highlights what he believes are the two biggest mistakes most writers make and then goes on to describe his own process for tackling this task. He includes his favorite quote on writing from Gustave Flaubert: “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

"[Coben's] methods of creating are inspiring, and at no time does it feel like he is claiming that his way is the right way."

Coben speaks to his inspiration for loving books, which later led to his desire to be a professional writer, by taking us back to an early Hanukkah gift: Charles M. Schultz’s Peanuts collection. As Coben grew up, he maintained a love of sports and film but always gravitated towards reading. When it came time to take a shot at doing his own writing, he had many personal interests to use as fodder for this creative venture, which he also highly recommends for anyone attempting to do the same.

It wasn’t until his 10th novel, TELL NO ONE, that he finally hit it out of the park as a successful writer. Not only was the book a global hit, it also spawned a French film of the same name that won a handful of awards. For years I had heard that Tom Cruise had purchased the US rights to it, but nothing came to pass. It was a great psychological thriller with an awesome twist and unlike anything he had written up to that point. It also allowed him to lean into one of his favorite subjects, a missing person, to become the center of the plot.

I loved hearing about the famous writers with whom Coben went to college, including Dan Brown and David Foster Wallace. His pursuit of writing fiction as a livelihood could be taken back to the moment that he read William Goldman’s THE MARATHON MAN in his youth and was amazed at what that immersive book did to him. I always enjoy learning which literary works inspired my favorite and most admired authors.

One of Coben's personal mantras that stood out to me the most can be directed to any burgeoning writer suffering from the intolerable ailment known as writer’s block: You can always fix bad pages. You can’t fix no pages. So write. Just write. His methods of creating are inspiring, and at no time does it feel like he is claiming that his way is the right way. 

Many mystery authors might need to know the solution to their story before they begin the writing process. Coben does not necessarily fall prey to that and admits he might have an idea, but he always leaves enough wiggle room to change it. It is this and so many other illuminating tidbits that make PLOT TWIST such an enjoyable and eye-opening read.