“Write what you know.” ― Mark Twain Role Models for Aspiring Authors When aspiring writers look for advice on how to guide or develop their own writing they often come across the axiom “ Write what you know ”, a saying attributed to both Twain and Hemingway (I have cited Twain as he was the earlier of the two writers). As a novice writer one can understand how life experience acted as a powerful catalyst for some writers to make their work both realistic and highly detailed. If we take the action and espionage genre of fiction, then we can see clear examples of how individuals who enjoyed careers in the intelligence community went on to write highly successful spy novels. Ian Fleming served in the British Navy Intelligence during the second world war and his experiences were used to create the James Bond series of spy novels. David John Cornwell (better known by his pen name John le Carré) worked in both MI5 and MI6
Devoted to the fiction of K.R.M. Morgan