Spanbauer largely inspired Palahniuk's minimalistic writing style. By his account, he started writing while attending workshops for writers that were hosted by Tom Spanbauer, which he attended to meet new friends. Palahniuk began writing fiction in his mid-30s. He ceased volunteering upon the death of a patient to whom he had grown attached. He performed volunteer work for a homeless shelter and volunteered at a hospice as an escort, providing transportation for terminally ill people, taking them to support group meetings. After casually attending a seminar by Landmark Education, Palahniuk quit his job as a journalist in 1988. During that time, he wrote manuals on fixing trucks and had a stint as a journalist, a job to which he did not return until after he became a successful novelist. He wrote for the local newspaper for a short while but then began working for Freightliner Trucks as a diesel mechanic, continuing until his writing career took off. He interned at the local public radio station, KLCC, as part of his coursework. Palahniuk attended the University of Oregon in his 20s, graduating in journalism in 1986. Palahniuk acknowledged in a 2007 interview that he is a distant nephew of actor Jack Palance, and that his family had talked of distant relations with Palance. His parents separated when he was 14 years old, and they subsequently divorced, often leaving him and his three siblings to live with their maternal grandparents at their cattle ranch in eastern Washington.

Palahniuk grew up living in a mobile home in Burbank, Washington. His paternal grandfather migrated from Ukraine to Canada and then to New York in 1907. Palahniuk was born in Pasco, Washington, the son of Carol Adele (née Tallent) and Fred Palahniuk.

His first published novel was Fight Club, which was adapted into a film of the same title. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. Charles Michael ' Chuck' Palahniuk ( / ˈ p ɔː l ə n ɪ k/ born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction.

Fight club by chuck palahniuk