Not all famous writers went into writing right away. Some of them worked in surprising professions. A nun, a psychotherapist, a pharmacist or a doctor – writers can surprise you!

Famous writers – who they were before they started writing

What famous authors did before starting their writing careers can surprise you! Many of them graduated from school in a profession very different from writing. Some of them used the experience they gained in their later work, and you have to admit, they did it brilliantly!

Harlan Coben, author of crime novels

One of the most popular contemporary crime writers is a political scientist by education. Harlan Coben attended Amherst College, where he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, of which Dan Brown – author of “The Leonardo da Vinci Code” – was also a member at the same time. Although Harlan Coben knew as early as his senior year that he wanted to go into writing, after graduation he took a job with his grandfather’s travel company and was a guide on the Costa del Sol trail in Spain.

Olga Tokarczuk, novelist and Nobel Prize winner for literature

The Polish Nobel Prize winner in literature is a graduate of the Psychology Department at the University of Warsaw. Her scholarly interests, especially the works of Carl Jung, had a great influence on her works. Olga Tokarczuk not only studied psychology, but also worked as a psychotherapist

Agatha Christie, author of crime novels

The most popular author of detective novels has been appreciated by readers for almost 100 years. Before she took up writing novels, she worked in a hospital and as a pharmaceutical technician during World War I. She readily used her knowledge of poisons in her later novels.

Arthur Conan Doyle, author of detective novels

The author of “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles” completed his medical studies in Edinburgh and even practiced medicine for a while. He also engaged in spiritualism, which was prompted by a personal tragedy – in World War I he lost his son, brother, brother-in-law and nephew. Not everyone knows that his fascination with spiritualism translated into his work – he is, among others, the author of two volumes of “The History of Spiritualism”.

Danielle Steel, author of novels for women

This popular author of over 100 novels for women is a designer by training. She has worked in a PR agency, been a copywriter, and supposedly wanted to be a nun as a child. A colorful resume, right?

Harper Lee, novelist

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of “To Kill a Mockingbird” studied law at the University of Alabama. She did not graduate, but she used the knowledge she gained while writing her most popular novel.

William Wharton, novelist

The education of this author of novels, the protagonist of which is the writer’s alter ego, will not be a surprise to his readers. William Wharton holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. Wharton also held a doctorate in psychology. His education and career path are reflected in the pages of his novels. He is one of the authors whose private life strongly influenced the shape of his works.

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