The Top 10 Best Movie Novelists

5. Madison “Maddie” Young- Hush 

Plenty of movie novelists write horror stories, but the next one actually survived one. Maddie Young happens to be both deaf and mute, but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying a career as a writer. The secret to her success is that she imagines every possible outcome and works her way back from there. Not a bad philosophy when it comes to crafting a story, but this skill also helps earn her a spot among the best final girls of all time. When a masked killer breaks into her home, she’s forced to out-think the guy in order to survive. Good thing she’s had lots of practice playing make-believe on blank pages because she goes from being the victim to turning the tables of the sadist. Maddie might have as impressive a reputation as some others on this list, but I think her next book is going to be a real page-turner if it’s anything like Hush. Besides, it’s always nice to include a kick-ass handicapable character on lists like these.   

4. Catherine Tramell- Basic Instinct

If there’s one group of movie novelists you want to watch out for, it’s crime writers. They spend all day sitting around and imagining all sorts of ways to get away with murder. Honestly, I’m surprised more of them are interviewed by the NSA because of their browser histories. Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) deserves a closer look when it comes to some of the more questionable research she does for her novels. It turns out that Catherine is a fan of the hands-on approach when it comes to writing murder scenes, and that draws the attention of the police who are interested in knowing just what happened to her most recent lover since he was stabbed to death with an ice pick. She’s thought through all the twists and turns though and throws plenty of them at the police as she plays cat and mouse with them. I’ll stick to Google when doing macabre research for my writing, but then again, I’m not a best seller. 

3. Karen Eiffel- Stranger than Fiction

Typically, movie novelists tend to be the heroes of their stories. However, Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is ostensibly the villain of Stranger than Fiction. Not that she’s evil or anything, but it turns out that the main character in her newest book actually exists in the real world. Harold Crick works for the IRS until one day hears a narrator in his head telling him that he’s going to die. Like any sane person, Harold thinks he’s going crazy. At least until he discovers that everything the voice tells him comes true. That’s when he gets scared that he might truly be fated to die thanks to this mysterious author in his head. Hoping to save his life, he seeks out Karen Eiffel and begs her to change the ending of her new novel. That’s when everything gets messy. See, Karen had no idea that she’d been killing off real people in her books all this time, and the realization causes a bit of a mental breakdown. For her God-like abilities, I have to give Eiffel one of the top spots among the rest of these movie novelists.   

2. Paul Sheldon- Misery

Hey look, another Stephen King character on this list of movie novelists! It seems like King really loves to make his characters suffer, and Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is no exception. Poor Paul earned his fame by writing a series of gothic romance novels, which he absolutely hates. Hoping to move on to more serious work, he ends his series once and for all by killing off his protagonist in the final book. On his way to deliver the manuscript, a blizzard hits, and his car careens off the road. Fortunately, Paul didn’t die in the accident. Unfortunately, he’s found by one of the most terrifying women in cinematic history and registered nurse, Annie Wilkes. Anne just happens to be Paul’s number one fan and takes it upon herself to nurse the poor man back to health. That is until she finds his latest manuscript and is crushed by the death of her favorite character. Things take a dark turn when Annie demands he rewrite the book and is more than willing to give him a bit of incentive to get it right this time…

1. Harlan Thrombey- Knives Out

There are few movie novelists who are as prestigious or prolific as Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Legend has it that he started on an old Smith Corona typewriter and used it to build a publishing empire that has sold over 2 billion copies of his 54 novels and 18 short story collections. He’s so successful that he’s managed to comfortably support his children and grandchildren. In fact, his estate is worth over $64 million. We don’t get to see much of Harlan in Knives Out, but what little we do learn paints him as a brilliant, charming, and kind-hearted man willing to do anything for those he loves. It just happens that his God-awful family didn’t fall under that category. Harlan had grown weary of constantly bailing his family out of financial difficulties and was starting to suspect they were all truly awful people. Unfortunately, he came to that realization a little too late and it ended up costing him his life. Still, Harlan clearly deserves the number one spot on this list of movie novelists based on the numbers alone.

Honorable Mention: Eddie Mora- Limitless

Rumor has it that Eddie Mora (Bradley Cooper) is responsible for the next great American novel. Of course, an asterisk should probably go next to his name since he was on the performance-enhancing drug NZT when he wrote. Still, the drug doesn’t make you someone you’re not, it just unlocks your potential. As much as I’d like to take the high road and condemn Eddie for using NZT, I can’t blame the guy. If I could get my hands on the stuff, I’d definitely use it to become a better writer. Because of that, I can’t knock Eddie Mora and despite the fact that he moved on from writing to more lucrative business opportunities, I thought he deserved an honorable mention among the rest of these movie novelists. 

Shout-Out: Sutter Cane- In the Mouth of Madness 

Sutter Cane is the cinematic equivalent to Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft’s love child. That alone would be enough to earn the guy a spot on the list above. However, the guy is also a bonafide nut job, having lost his mind after witnessing the unknowable creatures that lurk outside our existence. His eyes open to the possibilities, Cane sets out to obtain godhood by cultivating the worship and devotion of his countless fans. In other words, he takes narcissism to a whole new level and there’s no telling what he might be capable of once he becomes the best-selling author of all time. Despite his nefarious plans, Sutter Cane is easily one of the biggest movie novelists of all time, which is why he’s earning a shout-out.    

Dishonorable Mention: Jack Torrance- The Shining

Writer’s block comes with the territory for movie novelists. We’ve all been there before. Looking for any excuse to avoid working on a manuscript, Jack takes things a little too far when it comes to getting distracted from his new book. His frustration ends up destroying his sanity, and he goes after his poor wife and kid to vent his frustrations. I won’t go into all the details, but let’s just say that Jack never finishes his book and certainly won’t be winning father of the year anytime soon. More importantly, I’m a little concerned about Stephen King’s sanity since this is his third character to appear on this list of movie novelists and he puts all of them through hell. Maybe being an author isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.    

Those are my picks for the best movie novelists of all time. There have been quite a few over the years, and if you’ve got a fictional writer whose work you’d love to read, leave me a comment below. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new movie novelists hit the big screen. So, be sure to check back from time to time in order to see how the rankings might change. Until then, here’s hoping this list of big-screen bards offered up a bit of inspiration for all of you aspiring novelists competing in NaNoWriMo.