Dec 04, 2025

8 authors who never planned on becoming one

Aanya Mehta

Agatha Christie

Christie trained to be a pharmacist and worked in a hospital during World War I. Writing was never her initial plan, she began experimenting with mysteries purely out of boredom and curiosity, eventually becoming the “Queen of Crime.”

Source: wikipedia

Charles Dickens

Dickens worked as a factory labourer and later as a journalist. Becoming an author wasn’t on his radar until he started writing short sketches for newspapers, which unexpectedly gained popularity and launched his literary career.

Source: wikipedia

Douglas Adams

Adams dreamed of becoming a comedian and scriptwriter, not an author. His science fiction series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, was born from a humorous radio idea that unexpectedly evolved into a wildly successful book franchise.

Source: unsplash

Franz Kafka

Kafka worked at an insurance company and considered writing a private escape, not a profession. He never planned to publish and even instructed his friend Max Brod to destroy his manuscripts, yet he became one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Source: unsplash

George Orwell

Orwell never set out to be a novelist; he initially joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. His experiences there stirred a desire to write about social injustice, eventually leading to classics like 1984 and Animal Farm.

Source: wikipedia

Harper Lee

Harper Lee never intended to become an author; she originally studied law. It was only after encouragement from friends and a growing interest in storytelling that she eventually wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which became one of the most celebrated novels of all time.

Source: wikipedia

J.K. Rowling

Rowling was a struggling single mother working various jobs and did not see herself as an author. She wrote as a hobby, often scribbling ideas on scraps of paper. Her unexpected creation, Harry Potter, transformed her life and the literary world.

Source: wikipedia

Toni Morrison

Morrison worked as an editor and teacher and wasn’t focused on becoming an author. She wrote her first story simply to share with friends in a writing group. That piece eventually grew into her debut novel, The Bluest Eye.

Source: wikipedia

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