How to Write a Novel, According to Murakami: Lessons from His First Book and Novelist as a Vocation

Have you ever felt a sudden urge to write? If so, you are in good company, because that is exactly how Haruki Murakami says his own writing life began. So, how to write a novel according to Murakami? His answer is surprisingly down to earth, and today we pull it together from what he has said and written.

Almost anyone can write a novel

One idea fans often pass around is that Murakami believes almost anyone can write a novel if they want to. The logic goes like this: to become a pianist, you need long, tough training from childhood, but if you can write a sentence and have a pen and notebook, you can start without any professional training. We are working from a translated paraphrase, so we will not put exact quotation marks on it, but it matches the spirit of his well-known story.

That story goes back to 1978, when Murakami, then running a jazz bar in Tokyo, was watching a baseball game and suddenly thought he could write a novel. He bought pen and paper, wrote at the kitchen table after work, and the result was Hear the Wind Sing, published in 1979. We tell more of it in how Murakami went from jazz bar owner to world-renowned author.

Where to find his advice: Novelist as a Vocation

If you want his thoughts in his own words, the book to read is Novelist as a Vocation, a collection of essays on writing published in Japan in 2015 and in English in 2022. In it he talks about where novels come from, originality, schooling, characters, and his daily routine. Our source note does not name the book it recommends, so we cannot say for sure which one it meant, but this is the one that most directly answers the question.

A little fun fact from our notes: the first novel is a beer-lover's book, with the word beer appearing dozens of times (the note says 61). We cannot confirm the exact count, but anyone who has read it will believe it. It makes you want to sit in the sunshine with a cold one.

Practical lessons we take from Murakami

• Start small and start now. You do not need a perfect plan, only a pen and a notebook.
• Keep a routine. Murakami has often described rising early and writing for several hours, then running or swimming in the afternoon. Consistency matters more than inspiration.
• Look after your body. He treats writing as a physical job that needs stamina, which is why running is part of his creative life.
• Trust your own voice. His first book works because it sounds like him, not like a model he copied.

One more thing we like: Murakami never pretends writing is mystical. He describes it as work you can learn to do steadily, which is oddly comforting for anyone who has stared at a blank page and felt unqualified.

Is it really that easy?

Not exactly. Starting is easy; finishing and revising are the hard parts, and Murakami himself is clear that sustaining a writing career takes discipline and years of work. Think of the quote as an invitation rather than a promise.

FAQ

What is Murakami's best advice for new writers?

Begin with what you have, write regularly, and stay physically healthy so you can keep going over the long haul.

What was Murakami's first novel?

It was Hear the Wind Sing, published in 1979, which won the Gunzo New Writer's Prize.

Is Novelist as a Vocation available in English?

Yes, an English translation was published in 2022.

Do you have a novel waiting to be written? Tell us what your first sentence would be, Harukists.