From Lawyer to Novelist: James Arnett’s Path to Historical Fiction (E133)
In today’s episode, I am chatting with James Arnett. James was born and raised in Winnipeg in Canada and graduated in Arts and Law at the University of Manitoba and Harvard Law School. He has been a senior partner of a major Canadian law firm, CEO of a prominent Canadian public company and Chair of an Ontario utility. Along the way, he wrote articles for law review journals, newspapers and magazines, but recently has turned to writing historical fiction. He enjoys trekking, Kayaking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He lives with his wife, Alix, in Toronto and has 4 children and 5 grandsons. His latest novel, The Monmouth Manifest, was published in September last year.
In this episode, we chatted about the high percentage of author guest who have been lawyers and then have turned to writing. The importance of good writing while practicing law. His path to getting into writing that started with writing a treatment for a movie. It did not get picked up but then it was suggested he turn it into a novel. He realized he enjoyed and was actually good at writing dialogue. One thing he loves about writing is you get a piece or nugget of history and then you build the plot around it.
Key Highlights:
The high percentage of former lawyers who transition into writing careers
The role of writing in law and how it helps develop storytelling skills
James’s journey from legal writing to historical fiction
The experience of writing a movie treatment and transitioning it into a novel
The joy of discovering historical nuggets and weaving them into engaging narratives
How James realized he enjoyed and was good at writing dialogue
The thrill of taking a historical event and building a plot around it
Connect with James Arnett:
Purchase James’ books:
Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Howe Dynasty by Julie Flavell
Book Flight
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
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