Editing David Baldacci (section)

==Career==
[[File:City of Richmond Business District.jpg|thumb|[[Richmond, Virginia]], hometown of Baldacci]]

Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Backstage: David Baldacci and Jodi Picoult |url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/10/21/backstage-david-baldacci-and-jodi-picoult/ |publisher=Yale Daily News |date=October 21, 2011}}</ref> He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gresham |first1=Tom |title=David Baldacci once wrote stories in secret at VCU. Now he has millions of around the world. |url=https://news.vcu.edu/article/DavidBaldacci_once_wrote_stories_in_secret_at_VCU_Now_he_has |publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University |date=December 11, 2019}}</ref>

While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write ''[[Absolute Power (novel)|Absolute Power]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lavin |first1=Cheryl |title=Diary of a Best Seller |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-02-06-9602060114-story.html |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=February 6, 1996}}</ref> Published in 1996, it was an international best-seller. To date, Baldacci has published 50 novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.