And that's the mission of The Innocence Project in New York, is to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted, and also work from a policy angle with Congress and state legislatures to prevent future wrongful convictions. John Grisham More Quotes by John Grisham More Quotes From John Grisham In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard. John Grisham voice heard stories You live your life today, Not tommorow, and certainly not yesterday. John Grisham live-your-life yesterday today It's amazing how lies grow. You start with a small one that seems easy to cover, then you get boxed in and tell another one. Then another. People believe you at first, then they act upon your lies, and you catch yourself wishing you'd simply told the truth. John Grisham believe lying people Jesus preached more and taught more about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry than he did about heaven and hell. Shouldn't that tell us something? John Grisham sick heaven jesus I always try to tell a good story, one with a compelling plot that will keep the pages turning. That is my first and primary goal. Sometimes I can tackle an issue-homelessness, tobacco litigation, insurance fraud, the death penalty-and wrap a good story around it. John Grisham pages-turning issues goal Reading is by far the most successful pursuit of happiness. John Grisham pursuit-of-happiness reading successful When witnesses concoct lies, they often miss the obvious. John Grisham obvious missing lying Stephen King reached out to me twenty-five years ago and taught me some valuable lessons. In return, I've tried to be generous with my time over the years with young writers. I've given them my email and said if you need someone to talk to, I've been through it. John Grisham generous valuable Very few writers understand the complex history and maddening social order of the Mississippi Delta. For Steve Yarbrough, though, it's home turf. He is wickedly observant, funny, cynical, evocative, and he possesses a gift that cannot be taught: he can tell a story. John Grisham mississippi-delta home order I was a lawyer for 10 years - a short time, but it molded me into who I am. My clients were little people fighting big corporations, so it was a natural thing to not only represent the little guy but also to pull for him - it's the American way. John Grisham who-i-am fighting years Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff. John Grisham real fun book When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door. John Grisham levels walks doors If you're gonna be stupid you gotta be tough. John Grisham tough stupid ifs One thing you really have to watch as a writer is getting on a soapbox or pulpit about anything. You don't want to alienate readers. John Grisham soapbox want watches Shame was an emotion he had abandoned years earlier. Addicts know no shame. You disgrace yourself so many times you become immune to it. John Grisham recovery addiction years Death row is a nightmare to serial killers and ax murderers. For an innocent man, it's a life of mental torture that the human spirit is not equipped to survive. John Grisham innocent-man serial-killer men Live your life the way you want. You'll figure it out. John Grisham live-your-life want way My mum was never too keen on TV, so we kids all went to the library and got books out. Right from the start, I loved the works of Mark Twain. Every time I read about Tom Sawyer, I'd go out and do something low-level naughty, just like him. John Grisham naughty kids book An outline is crucial. It saves so much time. When you write suspense, you have to know where you're going because you have to drop little hints along the way. With the outline, I always know where the story is going. So before I ever write, I prepare an outline of 40 or 50 pages. John Grisham pages writing littles I'm alone and outgunned, scared and inexperienced, but I'm right. John Grisham confidence being-alone fear