Michael Connelly: How to Write Unforgettable Characters | How I Write

The podcast explores the craft of writing, focusing on techniques for detail, character development, and maintaining momentum in storytelling. Crime novelist Michael Connelly shares insights on observing "telling details" in real life to enrich fiction, emphasizing that fewer, more vivid details are better for pacing. Connelly describes his rewriting process, which involves printing drafts and marking them up by hand, and also highlights the importance of truth and accuracy, drawing from his journalism background. The discussion covers how setting, particularly Los Angeles, becomes a character through its unique features and segregated nature. Connelly also emphasizes the importance of conflict, inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's advice, and the delicate balance between heroes and villains, focusing on the hero's sacrifices.