{"id":5161,"date":"2013-09-06T07:49:04","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T15:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/?p=5161"},"modified":"2015-07-17T00:38:56","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T08:38:56","slug":"how-did-john-d-macdonald-become-a-professional-writer-without-even-knowing-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2013\/09\/06\/how-did-john-d-macdonald-become-a-professional-writer-without-even-knowing-it\/","title":{"rendered":"How Did John D. MacDonald Become a Professional Writer Without Even Knowing It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about pulp fiction and whether they are true or false.<\/p>\n<p><u><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">PULP FICTION URBAN LEGEND<\/span><\/u>: John D. MacDonald became a professional writer without knowing it.<\/p>\n<p>John D. MacDonald, like many popular pulp writers, was also extremely underrated.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/macdonald.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><\/p>\n<p>MacDonald&#8217;s most famous single work is most likely The Executioners&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/executioners.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><iframe src=\"http:\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?t=legenrevea-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;asins=0449131904&#038;fc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;lt1=_blank&#038;m=amazon&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;bc1=000000&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;f=ifr\" style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>which was later remade into the film classic, Cape Fear&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/cape_fearpreview.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><iframe src=\"http:\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?t=legenrevea-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;asins=B00005LC4D&#038;fc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;lt1=_blank&#038;m=amazon&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;bc1=000000&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;f=ifr\" style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>But he&#8217;s also well known for his series of novels starring the character, Travis McGee, beginning with Deep Blue Good-by&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/macdonald-deep-blue-goodby.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><iframe src=\"http:\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?t=legenrevea-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;asins=0449223833&#038;fc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;lt1=_blank&#038;m=amazon&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;bc1=000000&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;f=ifr\" style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s amazing, though, is that his long and storied career really began when he became a professional writer&#8230;without his knowledge!<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nMacDonald went to school to study business, and he graduated with an MBA from Harvard University. But during World War II, he enlisted in the army as a First Lieutenant and eventually ended up working for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the American Intelligence organization. <\/p>\n<p>While there, he wrote some stories and sent one home to his wife, Dorothy, to read. <\/p>\n<p>Unbeknown to MacDonald, his wife then submitted the story to the magazine Story, and it was accepted!!<\/p>\n<p>With the knowledge that he was now, whether he intended to or not, a professional writer, MacDonald continued to write short stories and pursued writing as a career upon the end of the war, to great commercial and critical success!<\/p>\n<p>Sounds like the sort of spouse any guy or gal would like to have (it also sounds like a plot for a sitcom)!<\/p>\n<p>The legend is&#8230; <\/p>\n<p><u><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">STATUS<\/span><\/u>: True<\/p>\n<p>Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is &#x62;&#x63;&#x72;&#x6f;&#x6e;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x40;&#108;&#101;&#103;&#101;ndsreve&#x61;&#x6c;&#x65;&#x64;&#x2e;&#x63;&#x6f;&#x6d;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about pulp fiction and whether they are true or false. PULP FICTION URBAN LEGEND: John D. MacDonald became a professional writer without knowing it. John D. MacDonald, like many popular pulp writers, was also extremely underrated. MacDonald&#8217;s most famous single work is most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[28,34],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7MjBq-1lf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7949,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2016\/05\/23\/did-vincent-and-mia-steal-the-twist-competition-trophy-in-pulp-fiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":5161,"position":0},"title":"Did Vincent and Mia Steal the Twist Competition Trophy in Pulp Fiction?","date":"May 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about movies and whether they are true or false. 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Tennessee Williams is one of the most celebrated playwrights of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Grab Bag Legends&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5166,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2013\/09\/09\/did-england-once-try-to-arrest-the-creator-of-a-pseudonym-for-stories-he-didnt-write\/","url_meta":{"origin":5161,"position":3},"title":"Did England Once Try to Arrest the Creator of a Pseudonym for Stories He Didn&#8217;t Write?","date":"September 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about pulp fiction and whether they are true or false. 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