Terry was a professional writer from the age of 17. He worked as a journalist which meant that he had to learn to research, write and edit his own work very quickly or else heâd lose his job.
He was 23 when his first novel was published. After six years of writing professionally every single day. The Carpet People was a lovely novel, from a lovely writer, but almost all of Terryâs iconic truth bomb lines come from Discworld.
The Colour of Magic, the first ever Discworld novel was published in 1983. Terry was 35 years old. He had been writing professionally for 18 years. His career was old enough to vote, get married and drink. We now know that at 35 he was, tragically, over half way through his life. And do you know what us devoted, adoring Discworld fans say about The Colour of Magic? âDonât start with Colour of Magic.â
It is the only reading order rule we ever give people. Because itâs not that great. Donât get me wrong, very good book, although Iâll be honest Iâve never been able to finish it, but itâs nowhere near his later stuff. Compare it to Guards Guards, The Fifth Elephant, the utterly iconic Nightwatch and it pales in comparison because even after nearly 20 years of writing, half a lifetime of loving books and storytelling Terry was still learning.
He was a man with a wonderful natural talent, yes. But more importantly he worked and worked and worked to be a better writer. He was writing up until days before he died. Â He spent 49 years learning and growing as a writer, taking so much joy in storytelling that not even Alzheimerâs could steal it from him. He wouldnât want that joy stolen from you too.
Terry was a wonderful, kind, compassionate, genius of a writer. And all of this was in spite of many many people telling him he wasnât good enough. At the age of five his headmaster told him that he would never amount to anything. He died a knight of the realm and one of the most beloved writers ever to have lived in a country with a vast and rich literary tradition. He wouldnât let anyone tell him that he wasnât good enough. And he wouldnât want you to think you arenât good enough. He especially wouldnât want to be the reason why you think you arenât good enough.Â
Youâre not Terry Pratchett.Â
And Terry would love that.Â
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