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

Host: David Perell
Guest: Michael Connelly (Crime novelist: Harry Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer)
Date: March 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, David Perell sits down with bestselling crime novelist Michael Connelly to deconstruct Connelly’s writing practice, the meta-mechanics of creating vivid characters, and how place, detail, and character interplay to produce unforgettable stories. Connelly shares insights gathered over 30 years and 100 million books sold, offering practical advice for writers and exploring the craft’s deeper philosophical questions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Detail in Storytelling

• Observation over Note-Taking: Connelly spends time with real detectives, lawyers, and judges, observing them without taking notes to avoid freezing authentic behavior.
  “I never take out a notebook… I just try to watch for what I call telling details.” (02:02, B)

• Momentum and Selective Detail: Too many details slow a story; focus on a few that create the most vivid, essential impression.
  “A key thing, maybe the key thing is momentum, you know, and a lot of details create speed bumps.” (03:39, B)

• Example: The groove in a detective’s glasses, formed by clenching them during crime scene investigations, conveys more than a long description ever could.
  “That was kind of like all I needed to say about this guy.” (04:18, B)

2. Rewriting: Where the Magic Happens

• Revision Process: Each morning begins with rewriting the previous day’s work, both digitally and on paper.
  “I start every morning by rewriting what I did the day before.” (05:57, B)

• Marking Up with Pencil: After printing, Connelly uses personal shorthand in the margins (“RW” for rewrite, “NSG” for not so good—a critique borrowed from his mother).
  (07:04, B)

• Finding the Best Details: The search for telling detail often happens in later drafts rather than the initial writing phase.
  “In rewriting… I think this is a better detail, or I expand a detail… I’m emerged into a full story.” (05:05, B)

3. The Role of Truth and Research in Fiction

• First-Hand Knowledge: Journalistic background gives him enough foundation to write freely, only checking specific facts later.
  “I covered courts and I covered crime for about 14 years… I always want to be writing.” (08:13, B)

• Research Network: Relies on a cadre of experts (detectives, lawyers, judges) and a researcher for concise answers, keeping his writing flow uninterrupted.
  “I have a researcher… but I would rather be writing.” (08:51, B)

4. The Writing Routine

• Early Mornings: Writes before dawn, aiming for “6 to 11 every morning”.
  “The safest time is mornings. That’s where you’re going to get less interruptions.” (10:04, B)

• Balancing Writing & TV Work: Spends afternoons on set or in interviews, but mornings are sacred for writing.
  (10:44, B)

5. Character, Character, Character

• Central Focus: Everything—plot, setting, detail—serves character.
  “For me it’s character, character, character.” (11:03, A)

• Reality and Resonance: Strives to make fictional characters feel real by embedding them in authentic settings, using real-world details and contemporary events.
  “If the best way to sell this character that doesn’t exist to a reader… is to plant that character’s feet in as real a world as possible.” (11:39, B)

6. Writing Los Angeles as a Living Character

• Unique Inspiration: LA’s diversity and constant evolution provide endless material.
  “In each book I start out with the goal of ending up in a neighborhood I’ve never been in, fiction wise.” (12:48, B)

• Crime and Geography: LA’s highways, hills, and social stratification create unique narrative opportunities and “palpable friction”.
  “LA is the city of second chances. But not all second chances pay off.” (15:12, B)

7. Lessons from Raymond Chandler

• Chandler’s Influence: Chandler’s atmospheric descriptions of LA inspire Connelly’s sense of detail and character.
  “I read [Little Sister, Ch. 13] when I start a book … it has nothing to do with plot… but … some of those descriptions are right on right now.” (16:33, B)

• Details Convey Character: The narrator’s observations often reveal as much about the character as the city itself.
  “It’s about him… and he’s an outsider looking in.” (18:07, B)

8. Different Characters, Different Lenses

• Perspective: Each protagonist is a lens for seeing LA differently—by gender, age, role, or insider/outsider status.
  “I have the lens that is like a female’s view… My true outsider … is Mickey Haller, the Lincoln lawyer.” (18:49, B)

9. Dialogue as Character

• Distinct Voices: Diction and the rhythm of speech are primary vehicles for character—sometimes what isn’t said matters most.
  “Dialog is the most important part of character.” (20:54, B)

• Economy of Expression: Harry Bosch, for instance, is defined by how little he speaks (“he nods a lot”).
  “My editor would just keep a running count of how many times he nods.” (21:24, B)

10. On Conflict and Momentum

• Vonnegut’s Rule: Every character should want something on every page, even if it’s small.
  “Kurt Vonnegut… said… make sure on every page, every character wants something, even if it’s only a glass of water.” (24:13, B)

• Relatable Struggles: Small, everyday conflicts (traffic, bureaucracy) ground the high stakes of crime fiction.
  “Most of my readers… have never solved a murder… so you got to connect with them… traffic, bureaucracy.” (25:41, B)

11. Place as Character

• Triggering Memory and Depth: Geography cues memory and internal backstory—moving through LA often prompts reflection for characters.
  “You… want your characters to be moving forward and backward… you can do that a lot with geography.” (28:18, B)

• Murder as Societal Investigation: Crime becomes a lens to explore the city’s social fabric.
  “A murder is basically a framework for you to investigate something in society… through an investigation of a murder.” (29:28, B)

12. Finding Story Momentum

• What Sparks a Story: Usually an idea he wants to explore—a social force, a new technology, a moral question.
  “I need an idea I want to explore.” (31:52, B)

• Recent Example: Using AI as the catalyst for a courtroom thriller, “putting AI on trial”.
  (31:52, B)

13. Dialogue: Making the Fake Real

• Cut it in Half: Realistic-sounding dialogue is concise.
  “Almost as soon as you write it, you go back and cut it in half.” (41:27, B)

• Trusting the Reader: Subtext and nuance are often more powerful than explicit statements.
  “I eminently trust my readers… especially in dialogue.” (43:53, B)

• Conflict through Subtlety: Dialogue can be about one thing on the surface but hold deeper conflict beneath.
  “I love doing conversations that are on face about this, but they're really about that.” (43:53, B)

14. Heroes and Villains

• Hero Over Villain: Connelly is more fascinated by what makes a hero and the cost of confronting darkness, rather than exploring the villain’s motives.
  “I’m really interested in heroes and what makes them heroes and what sacrifices they make…” (47:20, B)

• Conflict and Moral Cost: The darkness encountered in crime-fighting can threaten the character’s own moral center.
  “If you go into that, some of it’s going to get into you. And a lot of the books are about what do you do with that…” (49:10, B)

15. On Starting a Book: Hooks and Triggers

• Not Always Immediate: Early in his career, he felt pressure to introduce big story triggers quickly. With experience, he’s more willing to let character and situation develop organically.
  “To me, it’s like a slingshot… Now I don’t even think about it.” (52:20, B)

16. Transitioning to TV and Film

• Difference in Tools:

  • TV/film: Action and visuals (“what you’re doing”)
  • Novels: Depth and interiority (“what you’re thinking”) “Books are always going to be deeper… you have that component of internal thought.” (57:28, B)

• Challenges of Adaptation: TV’s need to visualize every aspect can conflict with a novelist’s trust in the reader’s imagination.
  “I put enough telling details… for them to build Harry Bosch in their head… Then 20 years later, I said, this is exactly what he looks like.” (58:35, B)

• Writer’s Room Camaraderie: TV writing brought back the fun and collaborative dynamic he missed from his journalism days.
  “It was fun because it reminded me a lot of my newspaper days… writing room… camaraderie and water cooler…” (60:55, B)

17. Character Names with Meaning

• Metaphor and Resonance: Names should never be arbitrary—look for metaphorical resonance (example: Harry Bosch named for Hieronymus Bosch, with LA as a “modern day Garden of Earthly Delights”).
  “Don’t just slough off the name, think about it. Names as metaphors are great…” (36:03, B)

18. The Changing Craft & Industry

• Audiobooks and Attention: While traditional reading demands focus, audiobooks introduce multitasking, possibly changing how stories are absorbed.
  “As long as there are people… holding a book, it’s hard to do anything else.” (70:21, B)

19. Teaching Writing: The Core Principle

• Always Be Writing: Continuous practice (“write every day, even if only for 15 minutes”) is the foundational advice that shaped Connelly and would be the cornerstone of his course.
  “I’m definitely always be writing type of guy… you’ll always be in the tunnel, you know, the story swirling around you…” (66:22, B)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Detail:
  “Instead of five details, you pick the one that says something about the situation, the character.” – Michael Connelly (03:46, B)

• On Character:
  “Everything seems to be in service of character.” – Michael Connelly (11:13, B)

• On Research and Momentum:
  “I always want to be writing… Always be writing.” – Michael Connelly (08:13, B)

• On Dialogue:
  “Dialog is the most important part of character.” – Michael Connelly (20:54, B)

• On Conflict:
  “Make sure on every page, every character wants something, even if it’s only a glass of water.” – Quoted from Kurt Vonnegut (24:13, B)

• On Heroism:
  “I’m really interested in heroes and what makes them heroes and what sacrifices they make…” (47:20, B)

• On Writing Routine:
  “Write every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes.” – Harry Crews, quoted by Michael Connelly (67:10, B)

Suggested Listening Timestamps

• 02:00 – Finding and using “telling details”
• 05:00 – Connelly’s rewriting process: daily routines and practices
• 11:00 – The centrality of character in fiction
• 14:50 – What makes LA unique for crime fiction
• 16:33 – Raymond Chandler’s influence and details as character
• 24:13 – The necessity of conflict on every page
• 41:27 – Making dialogue realistic
• 47:20 – Focus on heroism over villainy
• 57:28 – The difference between telling stories on the page and on the screen
• 66:22 – Advice for aspiring writers

Conclusion

Michael Connelly’s approach to crime fiction is anchored in deep character, vivid detail, and relentless writing momentum. Rejecting distractions and over-planning, he trusts both his instincts and his readers, returning always to the fundamentals: keep writing, go deeper into character, let setting shape the story, and distill every line to its essence. For writers and readers alike, this conversation is a masterclass in how unforgettable stories are built—one telling detail at a time.