Photo credit: Nina SubinIf you’ve got a girlfriend or wife, there’s a good chance she owns a book by Nicholas Sparks.Who, you ask? That’d be the bestselling author of gal-friendly novels like The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John, and The Lucky One. (And at over 90 million books sold—plus all the tickets from the hit movie adaptations—we do mean bestselling.)
Sparks is also the dude your partner wishes you were a bit more like. His tenderness, intimacy, and facility with pretty words make women melt—and just might make you a little jealous.
Luckily, with a new novel (The Longest Ride) out now, Sparks is feeling generous, and has volunteered to share a few of his secrets on how to win back your woman—you know, the one he probably stole. Listen up, gents.
Men’s Health: You’ve sold some 90 million books. Why do you think your work connects so deeply with readers—especially women?
Nicholas Sparks: I think that the novels succeed in accomplishing what they set out to do. If someone reads a thriller, what they want is to be thrilled. If someone reads a horror novel, what they want is to be afraid. If they read a romance novel, what they want is romantic fantasy. When people sit down to read my novels, what they hope to feel are all of the emotions of life in a very universal, yet original story in a place that feels very real. By making the place and the people and the feelings real, by the time someone closes the cover of one of my books, they have, hopefully, felt all of the emotions of life. It feels almost as if they’ve lived a little life with the characters.
MH: In college, you were a full scholarship athlete, and you still hold several track and field records at Notre Dame. Is there any connection for you between running and writing?
Sparks: Without question. Running probably taught me more about writing than anything else that I’ve done. Running and training are not always pleasant. You have to put the time in and you have to put the effort in, regardless of whether it’s always fun or pleasant, and you do so in the hopes that what you’re doing will work. Isn’t that writing? [Laughs] You just have to keep doing it. In running, there are injuries. In writing, there’s writer’s block or plot complexities that you just can’t figure out or a character voice that just isn’t working the way you want it to. These are injuries for a writer. What running taught me more than anything is perseverance and giving your best in hopes of doing something extraordinary. With no guarantees. That sums up writing to me.
MH: There’s this great love letter in The Longest Ride, and some perfect ones in your other novels, too—things every man probably wishes he could write. So tell us: What are some basics for composing a great love letter?
Sparks: First of all, I think any man can do this. Go read the letter in The Longest Ride, and you’ll see the things I’m about to tell you are exactly what I did in that letter, and it’s all pretty simple.
- First, you have to set the scene. What’s happening? What are you noticing? Explain why you’re compelled to write. There’s your opening line.
- Add specific memories and why they were wonderful and memorable to you. Be detailed.
- Say something like, “And it’s for these reasons, when I look at you, I feel . . . ” And explain how you feel. Don’t be shy.
- And then end with a thankfulness for the other and an acknowledgement that you perceive your own life to have been blessed because of the other having entered yours.
- Sign off with a fond acknowledgement: “Love always,” or, “I’m the luckiest person ever,” or, “You’re my one true love.”
- Sign your name. You’re all set. You can do this!
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