JG
Being able to write books that entertain people around the world.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 December 2015 source ↗
The question
What accomplishment matters most to you?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two fully readable publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 192 →
Rose Ayling-Ellis
British actress
That my work has given deaf children more confidence in themselves and a sense of ownership of who they are.
Having a family and still loving each other.
Billy Porter
American actor and singer
Holding on to my sanity.
That I am still creative.
More from John Grisham
View profile →Drop 20lb and lower my cholesterol.
When my mom died, on 18 January this year.
I had the benefit of some very good high school English teachers. One in particular when I was a senior in high school. I was a jock, okay. I was not a student. Although I enjoyed reading, that was about it as far as academics. But she forced us to read good books and good writers, particularly good American writers. We weren’t too thrilled to do it initially, but she taught us how to do it. Through that, I discovered some of my favorite authors, particularly John Steinbeck. Once I had gone through all of Steinbeck’s books, I realized that I had had a wonderful experience.
Having a stroke.
I don’t care – I won’t be here.
Impatience; the inability to savor the moment.
More on craft & work
- What is the worst job you have ever had? 230 answers
- How do you tell when a piece of work is done? 67 answers
- What do you do when you feel creatively stuck? 63 answers
- How does a new piece of work usually begin for you? 60 answers
- How much rewriting or revision do you typically do? 46 answers
- What part of your job would surprise outsiders because it takes up so much of your time? 41 answers
Also answered this
Irvine Welsh, Salman Rushdie, Siri Hustvedt, Mark Gatiss, Fatima Bhutto, Reece Shearsmith
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All craft & work questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject