How I Write

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Dean Koontz has written more than a hundred novels and sold over 500 million copies of his books. This is my second time having him on the show. The first time, we discussed writing practices, routines, and rituals: the standard topics we cover on How I Write. This time was different. We explored the supernatural, mysticism, and how to cultivate a sense of wonder both in life and on the page. The vibe of this conversation felt like two old friends sitting in a cabin, discussing life, the world, and the craft of writing. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Jodi Picoult is on the show today, and she has published 30 novels and sold more than 50 million copies of her books. For a while, she was writing a book a year! What I admire so much about her is how much fun she clearly has with her craft. Her research sent her ghost hunting and up to Alaska to visit Eskimos. She also gets so invested in her stories that she literally hears her characters speaking to her. How does she do it? How did she manage to write a book a year? That's what this conversation is all about. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-order Robert Greene's latest book here: https://sites.prh.com/lawofthesublime Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Robert Greene is on the show today, who's famous for books like The 50th Law and The 48 Laws of Power. How does he write books that so many people want to read? How has he written books so compelling that people literally want to steal them? That’s what we discuss in this conversation. What I admire so much about Robert, and the reason I love spending time with him, is that he has devoted decades to the craft of writing. You can feel it in his presence. He has labored and labored over his work, and now he is out with a new book called Sublime, which he wrote after suffering a stroke that left him paralyzed on the right side of his body. This book is his magnum opus. It is a departure from the standard Robert Greene fare, moving into something new, transcendent, and supernatural. An attempt to describe the indescribable. This conversation is beautiful and deep, and I think you will like it. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Andy Weir is on the show today, and he's famous for books like Project Hail Mary and The Martian, both of which turned into movies. In this conversation, we discuss science fiction as much as writing. How does he come up with new ideas? What makes for a good plot? How does he think through the science itself, bending reality in fun and playful ways? This interview does have some spoilers! So, if you haven't read the books, you might want to do that before you listen. However, if you love writing and don't care about spoilers, this conversation is for you. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Mark Normand is on the show today to teach us how to write good comedy. He moved to New York in 2006 when he was a nobody, barely knew how to tell jokes. This interview tells the story of how he worked his way up from admiring Seinfeld from afar to actually opening for him on tour in various cities. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Michael Arndt, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter, is on the show today to teach us how to write great stories. We started the conversation by discussing his time at Pixar. I asked Michael, "You worked on movies like Toy Story 3. What is it about Pixar's DNA that has made them so successful for so long?" We also discussed Little Miss Sunshine, the movie that won him an Oscar in 2007. He has read thousands of screenplays, so he understands what distinguishes a bad screenplay from a good one. As a script doctor and storytelling scientist, he's here to teach us how to write great stories. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Francine Prose has written more than 30 books and taught at both Harvard and Bard College. If you ask her how to become a better writer, she'll tell you to start by reading like a writer. Look at words and sentences, characters and details. Study them, dissect them. Then find books that you love, ones that have stood the test of time, and ask yourself: Why has this book endured? Why has it stayed popular for so long? But how do you actually do that? This interview provides an answer. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Harlan Coben has written 38 books. If you want to write thrilling and suspenseful stories, he's the guy to learn from. His vibe is like a tough-love basketball coach who tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. And while it might feel a little challenging at times, I promise you'll leave this conversation motivated to write, to get back to working on whatever project you're pursuing. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite R. F. Kuang came on the show to talk about her love for language and what it means to live like a writer. She has written seven books, won the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and trained at some of the world's top universities: Cambridge, Oxford, and Yale. What stands out is her ability to write in so many different voices: the economical, the poetic, the minimalist, the maximalist. How do you cultivate that dexterity as a writer? It is rare to meet someone who writes so well and can also explain their process with such joy and precision. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:29 How emotions can help you write 00:06:44 Writing from different povs 00:09:15 Sneak peek into an unreleased novel 00:15:20 Why easy writing fails 00:18:46 How to unlock your writing 00:23:09 Building unique voices for each book 00:30:47 What Kuang learned from debates 00:32:52 Why primary sources matter 00:35:33 What AI can never do 00:40:54 First steps of a book 00:45:16 Trust your subconscious 00:50:25 Copy the writers you love 00:52:57 Be goofy on purpose 00:57:34 The driving questions of her books 00:58:16 Read Taipei Story now 01:01:36 What her students must understand 01:04:38 Book and movie recommendations About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Matt Haig sold more than 10 million copies of his book, The Midnight Library. I just checked on Amazon, and it has over 288,000 reviews. This book was a total hit, a smashing success. I invited Matt on the show to ask him about his process: how he writes and how he tells great stories. Given his success, I also had to ask if it's acceptable to write for the mass market. Are you betraying the craft if you explicitly try to reach as many people as possible? About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Elif Shafak and Robert Macfarlane are two of the most dreamy and articulate writers I know. Elif has written 21 books, 13 of which are novels, and she’s the president of the Royal Society of Literature. Robert writes about the natural world, and he does so in such a poetic and enchanted way. His writing is infused with wonder. I’ve had both of them on the show individually, but I said, “Hey, I know you’re really good friends. Let’s all get together for one conversation. What I want to do is hear the kind of conversation you would have over a cup of coffee or over lunch.” And so here I’m like you, a fly on the wall for a conversation between two really interesting writers. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2018 novel "Less". I had to ask him what it's like to win a Pulitzer Prize. His story about that is my favorite part of the interview. We also talked about his writing process: how he tells great stories, develops great characters, and writes good sentences. He shared his mantras, such as the idea that when you're editing, the editor is the patient, and you, the writer, are the doctor. He also explained why it's better to be honest than witty if you want to write great comedy. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Mark Forsyth has spent years studying how great writers piece words together. People like Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, but also musicians like the Beatles and Taylor Swift. For him, it all comes down to figures of rhetoric: timeless tools you can use to make your writing more memorable and enjoyable. I asked Mark to break them down for me one by one: What is the tool? How does it work? When do you use it? Why is it good to apply? You'll find that these tools will make you a better writer. You'll have a lot more fun when you write because you'll be so much more playful when crafting words. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Jack Carr is a master at writing thrillers. He's a former Navy SEAL turned author who loves books and storytelling. When he walked in, I told him, "I want you to teach me how you write so visually. You're so good at visually taking the minutiae of combat and violence, writing about weapons in a way that comes to life on the page. How do you actually do that?" And this is a guy whose method clearly works. He publishes a new novel every year, has built a successful writing business, and Amazon Prime adapted his book, The Terminal List, into an original series starring Chris Pratt. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite Scott Dikkers is the former editor-in-chief of The Onion, the site that brought news satire to the internet. Before the episode, I went up to Scott and said, “I have one goal for this: I want to start writing funny. You know how to do it. Can you teach me everything you've learned?" He’s been doing this for decades, so he was able to take me by the hand and show me what he learned, very concretely. You're obviously not going to framework your way to becoming the next George Carlin, but there are universal principles of comedy that work in any kind of writing, whether it's for a group chat or when you are talking with friends on a Saturday night at the bar. And Scott is about to teach us how to do it. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite AI and creativity. I've asked dozens of writers for their take; some think it's a godsend, while others believe it's the literal scum of the earth. Here are 12 of the best responses from literary award winners like Robert Macfarlane, builders like Sam Altman, and journalists like Ezra Klein. This is what people at the cutting edge are saying about how AI will impact writing, creativity, and culture. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 Ezra Klein 08:02 Maria Popova 09:55 Tyler Cowen 17:39 Tom Junod 22:30 Sam Altman 26:32 Steven Pinker 29:12 Jimmy Soni 40:14 Riva Tez 42:43 Yann Martel 46:01 Marc Andreessen 48:14 Robert Macfarlane 50:48 Jon Yaged About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about Alpha School at ⁠https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite David Baldacci, one of the most prolific writers in the world, joins us on the show today. He has written 53 novels and seven children’s books, publishes two novels every year, and has sold more than 200 million copies worldwide. How does he craft great stories, develop compelling characters, and build tension? How does he approach the business of publishing? Drawing from his background as a lawyer and his time in boardrooms worldwide, what strategies does he employ to ensure his books sell and are read? This conversation explores those very questions. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite Learn more about Alpha School at go.alpha.school/howiwrite David Shelley is on the show today and he’s the CEO of Hachette, one of the Big Five publishers. In this conversation, I focused on two things. First, how should writers navigate the publishing industry? Second, how does the publishing industry actually work? Who better to learn from than someone at the top of the field? David has spent more than 30 years in book publishing, and his company sells roughly 220 million books every year, generating about $3.5 billion in annual revenue. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite David Sedaris has long been one of the funniest writers in the game, and he’s got a method for how he does it. It starts with observation, always looking for what’s surprising, ridiculous, or a little bit strange about the world. Then, every single day, he writes the best ideas down in a journal. But there’s also a willingness to put himself in absurd situations, like working as a Christmas elf at Macy’s or cleaning up litter off English country roads for eight hours a day. He’s sold more than 16 million books, and he’s been writing for The New Yorker for more than 30 years. Today, he’s here to teach us how he does it. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite Andrew Stanton was the second animator at Pixar, and he has been working there for 30 years. If you want to know how Pixar runs, this is your guy. He has directed movies like Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and he's the director of Toy Story 5. I had to ask him, "What have you done at Pixar to keep that quality bar so high? It's hit after hit, appealing to both kids and adults. How do you achieve this consistently?" That's what this episode is all about. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite Michael Pollan is one of my all-time favorite nonfiction writers. He has been writing about food, nature, and consciousness for decades. For him, the writing process begins with a question. He finds something he's interested in and embarks on an adventure. He experiences things, talks to people, learns, and then compiles it all into a book. His writing style feels as if he's putting an arm around you, simply reporting back what he's learned and experienced, all in a very friendly way. The adventure we discussed most in this conversation was when he bought a cow and followed it from birth to slaughter, illustrating the industrial food system's impact on meat production. Michael has taught nonfiction writing at Harvard and UC Berkeley. At the end of the interview, he said: "I just gave you an entire semester's worth of content in one hour." About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite Andrew Hunter Murray is a writer, a journalist, and a comedian. What stood out from this conversation is his love for literature, which shows up both in his three novels and in how he's studied people like Edith Wharton and Jane Austen. We talked about what makes a good premise and how to make a character feel alive. This conversation was a lot of fun. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah Hawley has written books, movies, and TV shows like Alien Earth and Fargo. He's been successful not just because he's a talented writer, but also because he's a consummate professional. He's fluent not just in the world of stories and characters, but he also knows how to work inside the industry and how to get things done. If you want to make it as a writer, whether on the page or the big screen, this interview is a roadmap for doing that. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suleika Jaouad says: "If you want to write a good book, write what you don't want others to know about you. But if you want to write a great book, write what you don't want to know about yourself." She's had a lifelong love for words, ever since she was a little kid. She began writing for public consumption in her twenties, after being diagnosed with serious cancer. From her hospital bed, she started writing for The New York Times, which led to her memoir, "Between Two Kingdoms", and her book on creativity, "The Book of Alchemy". What are the driving themes of our conversation? How do you free yourself to be creative How do you show up as your most unedited self on the page How do you fight writer's block How do you live with curiosity, wonder, and enchantment How do you truly open your eyes to the world This conversation will explore all of that. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Segura, a comedian known for specials like "Completely Normal" and "Sledgehammer", is also the creator of the TV show "Bad Thoughts". He's appeared on "Conan" and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". Today, he's here to teach us how to write comedy. What makes Tom's humor so distinct is its observational and story-based nature. He can look at something you've seen a thousand times and point out a hilarious detail, making you realize, "Yes, that's absolutely true!" That's why I asked him to come on the show and teach us how he finds and writes those kinds of jokes. Here's his answer, along with a few moments that had me in tears of laughter. [TIMESTAMPS] About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maria Popova writes one of the internet's best personal blogs. Originally called "Brain Pickings", it is now known as "The Marginalian". She has published more than 6 million pages of writing there, and it has become such a treasure that the Library of Congress recognized its value and made it part of their permanent archive. This conversation, however, explores much more. It delves into how to live and how to see, and how to turn to books for wisdom when confused and comfort when suffering. How can we read and learn to improve our lives? That is the driving question behind our discussion. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yann Martel is famous for writing "Life of Pi", which wasn't just a standout book but also an Academy Award-winning movie. What stood out to me about him is that he's strikingly well-read, and he's developed a unique approach to storytelling. Many writers say it's all about character, but Yann says other things are more important. Where other writers obsess over beginnings, it's the endings of stories that he truly falls in love with. If you want to learn about place, plot, people, and prose, you're in the right place. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buy Anne’s latest book, GOOD WRITING, below: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786813/good-writing-by-neal-allen-and-anne-lamott/ Anne Lamott is famous for writing "Bird by Bird", one of the best books ever written about the craft of writing. In it, she states that "perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people." Sentences like that have made her a muse for countless writers over the years. Beyond "Bird by Bird", she has written more than 20 books, including novels and memoirs. She recently published a book with her husband, featuring 36 rules for writing. In this interview, we discussed the types of people creatives should surround themselves with, why writer's block is a misnomer, and what she considers the very best writing prompt. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Tish Rabe has written more than 200 children's books. She's written for Disney and Sesame Street, and also after Dr. Seuss died in the early 90s, she started writing Dr. Seuss books. When she did, she really leaned into his distinct style. So I said, "You've been doing this for 40 years now. Can you teach me what you know about writing stories, bringing characters to life, rhythm and rhyme, and that unique flow that Dr. Seuss books are so famous for?" Beyond the tactics, this conversation will help you lighten up a bit and have a lot more fun with your writing. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com David Gelb directed 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi' and 'Chef's Table', which is what this conversation is all about: the art of making documentaries, telling stories, and bringing people to life. He says that whenever you're writing a scene, a character should come into it wanting one thing and leave with something else. David spent a lot of time with the world's top chefs, so I had to ask what lessons he learned from them and how those lessons seeped into his work. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Patrick Radden Keefe is going to teach us how to write narrative nonfiction. It's something he's been doing for 20 years as a staff writer at the New Yorker. He's also written six full-length nonfiction books. Patrick is known for this style called Write Around Reporting. So you want to focus on somebody who's wealthy or powerful, and they're just like, "No, I'm not going to talk to you. I flat out refuse." How do you still get that story done? That is Patrick's area of expertise. He did this with his book about the Sackler family, where they basically said, "We're going to threaten to sue you if you write this book." So then I said, "Well, what is it that you do to tell that story once you find it?" And he said, "You got to find your Donkey. A donkey to pull you through the piece." I was like, "What do you mean by that?" Well, you're about to find out. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wright Thompson is one of the best nonfiction storytellers in the world right now. He showed up to my place, and I immediately liked his vibe. We started talking, and it turns out we both love Guinness Zero. So we cracked open a beer, and we just talked about the writing process. How do you tell a great story? How do you nail an ending? How do you use details to bring a character to life? That's what this episode is all about, and it's a heck of a lot of fun, too. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Ocean Vuong is a poet, a novelist, and a professor at NYU. He's just really good at writing in this fresh, enchanted, and imaginative way. He has this way of seeing and experiencing the world that's alive and filled with wonder. If you want to write prose that's lush, words that are vivid, and stories that pulse with life, then you're going to love this episode. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Do you ever wonder how the book publishing industry works? How does the CEO of a top-five publishing house even think? That's what this episode is all about. My guest is John Yaged. He runs Macmillan, which is one of the top five publishing houses. I asked him to talk to me like I'm a young writer who has never published a book before. And that's what he did. If you're interested in improving your writing, if you want to be a super successful writer and understand how this industry works, then you're going to like this episode. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Michael Connelly is a crime novelist famous for series like 'Harry Bosch' and 'The Lincoln Lawyer'. Combined, his series have sold more than 100 million books, and they've become TV shows on Netflix, MGM, and Amazon Prime, where he's not just writing but is also the executive producer. His fingerprints are all over the work. I wanted to ask him how he dreams up vivid characters and how he writes about a city, a town, or a place. If you want to write, come up with stories, imagine worlds and put them onto the page, you're in the right place. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Steven Pressfield is a master in the art of storytelling. He spent decades studying what great stories have in common. So that's what we're going to talk about: the principles of storytelling and character building. I want to know the things that transcend genre and culture, and speak to the heart of the human condition. I want X-ray vision into what makes stories great. I want to know what makes you get to the end of the story and just say "wow". That's what this conversation is all about. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Robert Mac is on the show today to teach us what he's learned from great comics like Jerry Seinfeld and Mitch Hedberg. Robert has been doing stand up for more than a decade, and I wanted to know what he's learned about how to be funny, how to tell a good story. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Bill Browder has written two books, Freezing Order and Red Notice, which was everywhere when it came out in 2015. It’s a page-turner. I had to ask him how he thought about building character, bringing people into the story and keeping people engaged. Enjoy! About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Basecamp, the world’s simplest, most effective project management platform. Check them out at https://basecamp.com and tell them David Perell sent you. Diarmaid MacCulloch is an author, a professor at Oxford, and he's obsessed with history. A real expert who's been studying it for decades. In this episode, we talked about how to do history, the role of a historian in society, and how to take everything you learn in the research phase and turn it into clear, vivid, and entertaining writing. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Basecamp, the world’s simplest, most effective project management platform. Check them out at https://basecamp.com and tell them David Perell sent you. Lee Child, the man behind the "Jack Reacher" series, has sold more than 200 million books. It is the best-selling series of all time on Amazon in the UK. More than Harry Potter, which is crazy! A new book is sold on average every nine seconds. So how does he do it? How does he write it? How does he come up with the ideas? That's what we're going to find out. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Basecamp, the world’s simplest, most effective project management platform. Check them out at https://basecamp.com and tell them David Perell sent you. Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar are the two brilliant minds behind Train Dreams, the Oscar-nominated adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella. Their film is emotionally devastating in ways that stay with you long after the credits roll. In this interview, I wanted to understand how that kind of film actually gets made. We talk about how they taught themselves filmmaking by building a mental archive of films, how a single frame can unlock an entire scene, and why adapting a book spirit often requires stepping away from its words. This How I Write episode is an exploration into how two directors think together, and how a deeply human story becomes something monumental. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Basecamp, the world’s simplest, most effective project management platform. Check them out at https://basecamp.com and tell them David Perell sent you. Fareed Zakaria is one of the world’s leading journalists. Maybe you’ve seen him on CNN. Maybe you’ve read his books. Or maybe you’ve read his articles in the Washington Post. This conversation is a university-level seminar in the craft of writing, which builds upon the thousands of articles Fareed’s written over his career. It’s a guidepost for anybody who wants to write non-fiction. How do you develop expertise? How should you structure your days? What kinds of deadlines should you set? We also talked about how The Great Gatsby shaped his perspective on America, when to rely on anecdotes vs. data, and the skills that’ll remain scarce as AI breaks through the Turing Test and becomes a hyper-competent writer. The through-line of Fareed’s work is a philosophy of purposeful practice: watching all his TV performances to see how he can improve, reading great writing to absorb what excellence looks like, and using the deadlines of TV and newspaper columns to write consistently. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell Daniel Pink is one of the most successful nonfiction writers of the past 30 years. You've probably seen his books: "Drive," "The Power of Regret," or "To Sell Is Human." Maybe you've even seen his viral TED Talk about the science of motivation. In this conversation, we started by talking about his writing process, which he's been doing consistently for so many years. I wanted to know when, where, and how often he writes. I wanted to know all about it. At the very end, Dan goes: "I've got one more thing to share with you." And then he shares is the most important question that any writer can ask before they take on a new project. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Junod is famous for writing essays that have defined both people and events. He wrote a piece called "The Falling Man" for Esquire, which is the canonical piece about 9/11. Later on, he wrote the iconic "Can You Say...Hero?" about Fred Rogers, also for Esquire. What's unique about this conversation is that it's both practical and deep, but it all comes to a head at the end. In this climax, we get to talk about his bookshelf, and it fast becomes one of my favorite things that's ever happened on How I Write. Enjoy! About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adrian Tchaikovsky came on the show to talk about how he writes fantasy and science fiction. He won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for his book, Children of Time, and has written more than 60 books and novellas. He spends his life thinking about how to make believable worlds and how to build characters that have weight to them. My favorite thing is how he writes a fight scene, how he thinks through the pacing and all the action. If you want to write imaginative stories filled with wonder and fantasy, you're going to like this episode. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell Elif Shafak has a way of writing that's lush and enchanted. She writes about real things in the world: water, houseboats, ordinary things that we stopped seeing. And she infuses them with life and wonder so that we can see the world fresh again. Elif has written more than 21 books, and she's the president of the Royal Society of Literature, which has had fellows like J. R. R. Tolkien, Rudyard Kipling, W.B. Yeats, and Margaret Atwood. You'll notice that her writing advice is different from what you normally hear. She wants to help you splash your personality onto the page, how to write with soul, and how to unlock your wild imagination to do it day in and day out until you're left with a finished piece of writing. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:02 Making small things feel enchanted 00:04:39 How to avoid fake wonder 00:07:22 Elif’s writing routine 00:09:13 Writing at night 00:11:11 How heavy metal helps writing 00:18:07 What makes characters feel real 00:19:55 Fixing a story 00:22:15 Writing like children 00:26:09 Which senses matter most 00:32:32 Taking risks after being successful 00:34:12 Soft vs hard writing 00:38:59 Elif’s editing process 00:43:27 How poetry influences her writing 00:48:30 What English can’t express 00:51:46 Writing as if you’re “drunk” 00:55:04 Why freedom comes first 00:57:04 Lessons from favorite writers 01:06:44 Rumi’s influence 01:10:22 Spirituality vs religion 01:15:07 How cities shape writers 01:17:11 James Baldwin’s influence 01:18:22 Melancholy and humor About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/david_perell⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henry Shukman is a poet, author, mindfulness teacher and Zen master. He has studied meditation for 35 years, principally in the Sanbo Zen lineage. His most recent books are Original Love (HarperOne) and the Zen memoir, One Blade of Grass. He is also the co-founder of the acclaimed single-path meditation app, The Way. He has taught at Google, the New York Times, Harvard Business School, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. He has written several award-winning books of poetry and fiction, and his poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Guardian and Sunday Times. He has a degree from Cambridge and an MLitt from St Andrews. Learn more about Henry's latest book, Original Love: https://henryshukman.com/writing/original-love Deepen your meditation with The Way: https://www.thewayapp.com/howiwrite About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every so often, I'll re-publish some of my favorite How I Write interviews. This classic episode is with Ward Farnsworth, a law professor and former dean at the University of Texas School of Law who has written popular books about clear thinking, language, and philosophy. His books include Classical English Style and works on rhetoric and legal writing. Get 60 days free Readwise Reader at https://readwise.io/davidperell/ Check out Ward's website: http://wardfarnsworth.com/ 00:05:09 Example 1 (King James Bible) 00:07:25 Example 2 (Winston Churchill) 00:12:01 Example 3 (Winston Churchill) 00:15:35 Example 4 (King James Bible) 00:18:34 Example 5 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:23:13 Example 6 (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.) 00:26:56 Classical English Rhetoric 00:27:56 Example 7 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:30:15 Example 8 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:32:04 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader] 00:33:31 Example 9 (Winston Churchill) 00:36:09 Example 10 (Lloyd Bentsen) 00:38:50 Example 11 (JFK) 00:42:16 Example 12 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:43:56 Example 13 (Henry Fielding, Tom Jones) 00:45:48 Example 14 (King James Bible) 00:47:58 The 3 Techniques, explained 00:52:40 Practical advice for everyone 00:56:24 The ideal writing curriculum About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell This episode brings together the moments from How I Write in 2025 that have stayed with me the longest. These are the clips I revisit when I need to be reminded why writing matters. Robert Macfarlane talks about wonder as something you have to actively protect. Jayne Anne Phillips explains why the memories we keep from childhood reveal who we are. Paul Harding makes the case for aiming higher than feels comfortable and learning from the writers who shaped you.Henrik Karlsson shows what it means to really look at the world instead of getting trapped in your own words. Alain de Botton reveals how the news narrows our thinking. Lulu Cheng Meservey talks about writing that feels alive rather than polished to death and Mitch Albom tells a story that shows why storytelling is a craft of emotion as much as technique. And then there is poetry. Dana Gioia and David Whyte both treat poems as part of a life, something to memorize, perform, and return to when everything feels confusing or heavy. This episode is a reminder that writing is not just about words. It is about attention, courage, honesty, and the way we make sense of being alive. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell Jonathan Franzen is one of the most influential novelists alive today. He sees fiction as the most fundamental human art, and in this conversation he explains how he actually makes it: the discipline, the daily grind, and the psychological spelunking required to write characters who feel startlingly alive. Franzen has always had an outsider’s eye. He questioned the hype of the Internet long before it was fashionable, and he’s been ruthless in diagnosing the spiritual emptiness of modern consumer life. Practically, more than anything else, this episode is about how he develops rich characters. For Franzen, the people are the story. When they’re real and true, fiction has a way of getting to the core of the human experience in a way that gives people a visceral experience, as if they’ve lived the story firsthand. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell Atul Gawande has written four books and countless articles for The New Yorker. When you think about doctors who write well, he's going to be the first person who comes to mind. What's unique about him is that this isn't something that came naturally. The work of research, writing, editing, shaping sentences, telling stories: those are all things that he taught himself. He's a surgeon, and he's still been able to write as much as he has. How has he done it? What has the discipline of writing for him been? That's what this episode is all about. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York, came on the show to talk about how he wrote his way to five published books and 13 million Instagram followers. Along the way, the man basically invented his own genre of biography. There are short stories, there are long stories. What he would do every single day is he'd walk out onto the streets of New York, photograph people, and interview them. He would say, "How do I tell this person's story?" What he discovered is that these people's stories were stories about the human condition itself. It went completely viral. So if you're interested in thinking about how to tell better stories about people, how to find your voice as a writer, then you're going to like this conversation. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell David Grann: one of the best storytellers alive today and an absolute master at narrative nonfiction. You might know him from "Killers of the Flower Moon", which Martin Scorsese turned into a film. And then there's "The Wager"; I can't think of a single book that more people I know have said that they just read the entire thing, from start to finish, in one sitting. So what is it that he does to find stories, to research them, to turn them into writing that just makes people flip from page to page? Lush, vivid prose, great descriptions. How does he do it? That's what this conversation's all about. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Orlean writes nonfiction books that read like fiction, sort of working in the style of Joan Didion or Tom Wolfe. But what makes her different is how intentional she is about her writing process. She's very intentional about the research, the writing, the editing phases, all of it. And if you're thinking about your own process, how can you structure your life in order to lead to good writing? Well, you're going to love this episode. About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Sagmeister is the author of six books and one of the most influential designers in the world. He's won multiple Grammy Awards for his designs, and he's designed album covers for people like Jay-Z and David Byrne, the Rolling Stones. But he's a writer. What does he write about? Well, design, beauty, how to find good ideas. You'll notice when you pick up one of his books that the form, the style, the vibe, the typography is every bit as important as the content. This is really about design, beauty, and why our world looks the way it does. Enjoy! About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan Housel is one of the top non-fiction writers in the world. He is most famous for his book “The Psychology of Money”, which has now sold more than 8 million copies. Before he wrote the book, he wrote more than 4,000 blog posts for publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool, and that’s how he honed his craft. This is my second time having Morgan on the show. The first time, I just wanted to talk about Morgan, how he goes about his work. But this time I said: “Tell me about stories.” “How do you find stories? How do you tell stories? How do you think about the rhythm of stories?” That’s why he’s been able to sell millions of books in the world of psychology, investing, and business: because of his ability to tell a really good story. Enjoy! 00:00:50 Collecting Good Stories00:04:12 Storytelling Beats Facts00:05:16 How to Hook Readers00:08:39 How Morgan Uses ChatGPT00:15:53 Teaching vs Preaching in Writing00:18:01 The #1 Worst Writing Advice00:25:18 Wide Funnel, Tight Filter Framework00:27:08 How to Find Your Writing Style00:31:45 Why Write Books in an Online World00:36:20 How Morgan Wrote ‘The Art of Spending Money’00:47:16 Morgan’s Admiration for Beautiful Writing00:53:28 How to Start a Chapter00:57:18 Becoming More Observant01:01:01 You Don’t Need New Ideas01:08:16 How Morgan Deals With Rejection About the host Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can’t walk through an airport without seeing a Mitch Albom book on one of the shelves. He’s most famous for writing Tuesdays with Morrie, which may very well be the best-selling memoir of all time. He’s now written 14 books, which combined have sold more than 40 million copies. In 45 years of hitting the keyboard, this is the deepest conversation he’s ever had about the craft of writing. I asked him to approach this like a college writing seminar. Give me the rigor. Give me the examples, baby. Show me how you go about your craft. And that’s what he did. He taught me the ins-and-outs of character building, writing novels, and our conversation started with how to tell great stories. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Dan Wang, a writer and analyst whose annual letters from China have become a first draft of modern Chinese history. We talked about how he blends personal observation with deep analysis, how to skip the cliches and write with texture instead, and how classical music and literature have shaped his writing style. What’s unique about Dan is that he built a name for himself by writing one essay per year (in an age where writers are encouraged to publish consistently). We also talked about his approach to travel writing, the difference between living in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, how AI is changing the way he thinks (but not how he writes), and why China’s influencer culture is his least favorite thing about the country. 00:1:04 Why Dan writes Annual Letters00:07:53 Dan’s favorite novel00:15:01 Dan’s method for writing00:26:02 Why most travel writing stinks00:30:44 How to travel through China00:33:05 The regions of China, explained00:44:47 Trade books vs. academic books00:53:46 The problem with history books01:01:42 Did Dan write his book with AI?01:10:50 Dan’s least favorite part about China1:15:42 A critique of American elites1:33:08 Dan’s website got blocked in China1:39:52 What China mocks about America1:54:49 A simple way to improve your writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Ada Limón and Joy Harjo, two of America’s most celebrated poets and former U.S. Poet Laureates. We talked about the art of deep listening, how to translate the music of the world into language, and why silence is never empty but always alive. We explored how poetry resists “clock time,” why metaphor is essential to truth, how culture lives through song and dance, and what it means to trust your voice across a lifetime of writing.If you want to write with more presence, rediscover the mystery of language, or understand how poetry can awaken a deeper way of being, this conversation will give you timeless insights from two masters of the craft. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Jack and Ryan from AJR, the band that has built one of the most original voices in modern music. We talked about how they use humor and vulnerability to write songs that connect on a deeper level, why embarrassment is often the best creative compass, how Broadway and magic inspire their live shows, and what they’ve learned about navigating TikTok, streaming, and the new economics of the music industry. We also explored their thoughts on AI, why imperfection makes art feel authentic, and how they’ve grown from writing dorm-room party songs to filling arenas around the world. If you want to understand the future of music, create art that’s both playful and profound, or learn how to stay true to yourself in a world driven by algorithms, this conversation will give you a rare inside look at the creative process of AJR. 00:00:00 The truth in music 00:09:41 Embarrassment as creative fuel 00:20:05 Context is everything 00:29:24 From 2D to 3D songwriting 00:39:36 Live shows as the real artwork 00:49:42 Truth, AI, and the future of music 00:59:41 Haters, resilience, and regret-proof songs 01:09:27 Writing a thousand bad songs 01:18:58 Partnership and balance 01:28:32 Themes, loss, and the arc of Maybe Man Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every so often, I’ll re-publish one of my favorite How I Write episodes. This classic episode is with Steven Pressfield, the author of more than 25 books who speaks as beautifully about the creative process as he writes. He waded through 27 years of Resistance so you don’t have to. Come learn his best practices for doing your best work. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:40 Your career in writing 00:07:00 Writing rough drafts 00:11:10 Copywriting 00:13:20 Hemingway 00:14:20 The Legend of Bagger Vance 00:18:40 Fiction vs Non-fiction 00:19:15 Storytelling advice 00:29:20 Editing your work 00:40:55 Discipline in writing 00:43:45 Villains in writing 01:02:45 How Steven started writing 01:05:15 Robert Greene 01:08:50 Tim Ferriss 01:12:00 60 scenes method 01:13:20 Writing styles 01:20:20 Make your heroes suffer 01:23:55 Steven Pressfield's new book "The Daily Pressfield" Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Jimmy Soni, who is currently writing a book about Kobe Bryant. He spent six years on his previous book about the origin story of PayPal and has mastered the art of investigative biography. We talked about his 4am writing routine, how he blends research and writing to battle writers block, why he finds the best stories by talking to people on the periphery, his thoughts on using AI as a writing tool, and his experience creating a new publishing company. If you're interested in writing better non-fiction, doing deeper research, or finding the stories everyone else misses, this conversation will show you exactly how to do that. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed John Lennox, the Oxford mathematician who's spent decades bridging science and faith. We talked about why John 1:1 reveals we live in a word-based universe, how to recognize God-breathed scripture, why scientific explanations don't exclude God, and his fascinating take on AI as humanity's attempt to "make God." He also shared practical writing advice about self-criticism and why young people struggle with metaphors. If you're curious about how faith and reason work together, or worried about what AI means for humanity's future, this conversation will challenge how you think about both. Enjoy! 00:00:00 Why John 1:1 Reveals a Word-Based Universe 00:09:30 How to Know Scripture Is God-Breathed 00:17:40 Why Scientific Explanations Don't Exclude God 00:23:24 Why Style Is As Important As Substance 00:29:29 How to Balance Argument and Self-Criticism 00:33:35 How Narrow vs General AI Create Different Risks 00:41:40 Why the AI Race Is About Making God 00:46:02 How AI Changes What It Means to Be Human 00:52:47 How Christians Can Lead in AI Ethics Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Henrik Karlsson, a writer who's developed a five-step method for writing that starts with exploring without pressure and ends with crafting the opening last, after everything else is done. We talked about why looking away from the page improves your writing, how to suck reality into your descriptions, why protecting young ideas from early critique matters, and how to access pre-linguistic mental states where the best ideas live. He shared strange experiments that actually work, why breaking grammar rules improves your voice, and how writing becomes a search query for finding your perfect audience. If you want to write with more depth, develop your authentic voice, and learn how to turn mental chaos into compelling essays, this conversation will show you exactly how. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Jayne Anne Phillips, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel Night Watch. We dug into passages from her writing that will show you how she thinks about voice, character, and the poetry of great writing. As you listen, I want you to notice something: pay attention to how many times Jane describes writing as a full-bodied experience. She sees the creative process almost like an archaeologist would, feeling her way into the hidden and mysterious world of her own novel. Now that sounds fascinating, but how do you actually do that? Well, that's what this interview is all about. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Rosanne Cash, a 4-time Grammy winner who's been writing songs for over 40 years. She's mastered something most writers struggle with: turning raw emotion into beautiful, lasting songs. She writes songs like a painter, starting with visual images, and brings the same rhythmic approach to both music and prose. We talked about how to turn pain into art, why anger and grief are powerful creative forces, how to deconstruct great songs to learn from masters like Bob Dylan, and how to develop your authentic voice through decades of deliberate practice. If you want to write with more emotional depth and turn life's difficulties into meaningful art, this conversation will show you how. Enjoy! 00:00:00 Why Great Writers Love Language Early 00:07:47 When to Ask for Feedback on Songs 00:14:46 How to Deconstruct Songs Like Bob Dylan 00:21:25 How to Study Different Songwriting Traditions 00:25:19 Why Truth Should Drive Your Creative Work 00:31:11 Why You Must Master Rhyme Schemes First 00:35:13 How to Use Anger as Creative Fuel 00:42:15 Why Emotions Are Invitations for Discovery 00:50:56 How Your Voice Changes Over Your Career 00:56:06 How Songs Start as Visual Images 01:01:25 Why Music Survives When Everything Else Dies 01:05:48 The Dream That Changed Everything About Art Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed David Whyte, a poet who has mastered the art of turning life's deepest experiences into beautiful writing. We talked about how to write from the place where your inner world meets the outer world, why difficult emotions like grief and anger are actually forms of care, how memorizing poetry changes how you experience reality, and practical techniques for developing deeper attention. If you want to write more authentically, develop a stronger presence, or learn to find beauty in ordinary moments, this conversation will give you specific tools to do that. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Alain de Botton, a philosopher and writer who has turned personal pain into universal wisdom. He's written dozens of books and built The School of Life into a YouTube channel with nearly 10 million subscribers, but the thing that makes him unique is that he approaches writing as a form of emotional archaeology. We talked about why good writing requires suffering, why loneliness is essential to the creative process, and how writing is actually a form of revenge. He also shared his approach to writer's block and why he believes the pressure is on us creatives to deepen our self-exploration. If you want to understand how to write with emotional honesty and create work that genuinely connects with people, this conversation will show you a completely different way to think about the craft. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Steven Levitan, the co-creator and showrunner of Modern Family, one of the most successful sitcoms of the past two decades. What makes him fascinating isn't just that he wrote hundreds of TV episodes, but how he thinks about the craft of comedy writing itself. We talked about why story breaking is the hardest part of TV writing, how he juggles multiple storylines in 21 minutes, the difference between fast-twitch and slow-twitch writers, why the best jokes come from character, how to build character dynamics that last hundreds of episodes, and why Modern Family was designed to bring joy to families. If you want to understand how professional comedy writers think about storytelling, character development, and the creative process behind hit television, this conversation will give you an inside look at the secrets that made Modern Family. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed David Zucker, the director behind Airplane!, Naked Gun, and some of the funniest movies ever made. What makes this conversation fascinating isn't just the behind the scenes stories, but how he breaks down comedy writing like a science. We talked about his specific rules for making people laugh, his "flywheel theory" of pacing that keeps audiences laughing non-stop, and why they test-screened Airplane! so many times. If you want to understand what actually makes something funny, whether you're writing, performing, or just curious about the craft, this conversation will show you the discipline and technique behind comedy that looks effortless. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is not a normal episode. There's two guests, not one. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, and they're the founders of the Bible project, a YouTube channel with more than half a billion views. It is entirely devoted to teaching people how to read just one book. I think that book happens to be the most influential book in the history of western civilization. The beginning of this interview is about how they make these videos. They're so good, how they're researched, how they're written, how they're animated. Then we got into the deeper stuff, and I think you're going to like it whether you're religious or not. Questions like, how should you read the Bible? And what can we learn about all the different writing styles in scripture? Stories, songs, poetry, proverbs, parables, all those things.  Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Robert Macfarlane, a writer who has mastered the art of nature writing. What makes him fascinating isn’t just that he writes beautifully about landscapes, but how he thinks about language itself. We talked about why he rewrites first sentences hundreds of times, what happens when entire languages die forever, why AI makes all writing sound the same, and how to build a stronger feel for using vivid and rich language. If you want to write more powerfully and develop your distinctive voice, this conversation will show you how to do that. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Paul Harding, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his very first novel Tinkers. Unlike most novelists, he’s not really interested in plots, and only halfway interested in characters. So what is he interested in? He’s focused on describing the wonders and mysteries of life, teaching us how to see, hear, and feel more vividly, and how to translate those sensations onto the page. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m here at Harvard in the office of Steven Pinker. He’s written nine books and spent his life studying language, cognition, and writing. In this interview, we started with the practical: the rules of writing. But what makes him unique is that he’s been thinking about AI since the 1980s. So if you’re interested in doing great non-fiction writing in the age of LLMs, this interview is for you. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ezra Klein is one of the internet’s most influential journalists. He co-founded Vox in 2014, and it was there he really pioneered this new era of online journalism. Remember those Vox explainer videos that were so popular? As I’ve recorded this, he’s got the #1 book on the New York Times bestseller list. We talked about the state of media, why pieces need to be longer not shorter, how he reads to understand the world, and why he’s skeptical that AI will ever change the craft of deep and meaningful journalism. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dune. Forrest Gump. Benjamin Button. Eric Roth wrote all of them. He’s been nominated for seven Oscars and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump. I got the chance to ask him about how you find a deeper theme in a story, what a writer can do to really move people, and what it’s actually like working with people like David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese. Eric Roth is one of the greatest screenwriters of our time, hope you enjoy this one. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Jamin has been writing Hollywood sitcoms for 28 years on shows like King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-Head. Unlike most comedy writers, he’s not focused on punchlines, he’s more focused on building rich characters, developing deep storylines, and layering the comedy on top. But how do you do that? That’s what this episode is all about. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dean Koontz has written over 100 books and sold more than 500 million copies, making him one of the best-selling authors of all time. I visited Dean at his home and personal library to understand what truly sets him apart. Unlike most mass-market writers, Dean is obsessed with the craft. He doesn’t just write stories, he truly lives for the beauty of the English language. We talked about why he stopped outlining his novels and how to build characters that feel alive. But honestly, this conversation goes way deeper than just writing. I think you’re going to love it. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world isn’t made of atoms, it’s made of stories. I’ve never heard anyone speak so deeply about interviewing. Johann Hari has written four books, and for each one he travels the globe to record hundreds of conversations. In this episode, he’ll explain exactly how he does it, sharing stories of getting up close and personal with homeless people in Vegas and a crack dealer in New York. In the end you’ll hear a wild story of the apple in Vietnam that almost killed him. Enjoy! Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Storr has written 7 books and he’s basically a scientist for storytelling. Now you might be thinking: Do we really need another storytelling guy? But Will is different. That's because he doesn’t just talk about plot or the hero’s journey, he focuses on character. Great stories don’t start with plot… they start with people. The best part? By the time you’re done with the episode, you’ll have the tools to be a better storyteller in your next conversation.   Explore Will's Storytelling Substack: https://willstorr.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Architect Michael Dean breaks down the hidden patterns behind the great essays of our time. In this video, we go over his 27-point framework that makes up every world class piece of writing and how he uses the same system to analyze the Guggenheim and Apple Store. We also talk about what skills will still matter as AI continues to improve and why learning to write might be more important than ever. Enjoy! A few links: Join the Essay Architecture beta: https://essayarchitecture.com/ Follow Michael Dean on Substack: https://michaeldean.site/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The old communications playbook is dead: Political and company narratives used to be controlled by publicists and journalists. But now, founders can Go Direct. The question is… how? How do you spread a message in this new world? Lulu Cheng Meservey has worked with companies like Substack, Anduril, and Activision Blizzard, and this is her tell-all about how to build your own platform, build your own audience, and shape your own narrative. 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:32 Go direct 00:05:01 Beware of "perfect" writing 00:10:06 Ship-to-Yap ratio 00:15:20 Shaping a comms strategy 00:17:51 How to craft your message 00:22:57 Should you write with AI? 00:27:01 You don't need new ideas 00:32:13 Say what no one else will 00:35:20 The writing AI can't do 00:41:23 The power of the right messenger 00:47:31 Borrowing tactics from elections 00:55:12 Apple vs. crypto cults 01:02:38 How to launch your product 01:07:06 Stop making narcissistic announcements 01:09:55 What slogans work? 01:14:29 How to write an apology Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get my free PDF on using LLM's for writer's + my in-depth prompts: https://perell.com/ai AI has triggered an existential crisis for me. In this episode, I share my thoughts on standing out as a writer with AI and how I use it everyday. This is one of the most in-depth looks at what it means to be a writer in 2025. Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I sit down with YouTube storytelling master Johnny Harris to discover how he creates his videos. Johnny Harris has proven he can make pretty much anything go viral, from breakfast and lottery tickets to bread-making and extra virgin olive oil. We look at his entire creative process, breaking down exactly what makes his storytelling so addicting to watch. We cover the complete workflow: writing, drafting, editing, visual composition, and sound design. By the end of this video, you'll walk away with practical tools to become a better visual storyteller yourself. Enjoy! Get 60 days free Readwise Reader at https://readwise.io/davidperell/ 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:35 The Video Process 00:09:18 How to Research for a Documentary 00:10:10 The Marketing for a Video 00:13:15 Scripted vs Unscripted Content 00:15:18 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader] 00:16:44 Full Breakdown of Johnny Harris' 4M View Mormon Video 00:45:34 Balancing Personal Passion vs Views 00:50:27 Every Story is a Promise 00:51:47 Highlighting Paradoxes in Human Stories 00:58:56 The "There's More Going On" Approach 01:03:20 Vox vs Independent YouTube 01:04:26 Pillars of YouTube Writing 01:05:27 Dealing with the Details in Complex Stories 01:07:19 The Art of Surprising Viewers 01:11:33 Learning from The Economist 01:18:11 Human Stories 01:21:05 Craftsmanship in the AI Age 01:24:02 How Would Johnny Harris Teach a University Class Johnny Harris https://www.youtube.com/@johnnyharris https://www.patreon.com/johnnyharris https://www.instagram.com/johnny.harris/ I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tyler Cowen, an economist and writer, talks with me about how AI is changing writing and research. He explains a practical approach to using AI tools while maintaining your own voice. He explains the ways he incorporates LLMs into his daily work. We talk about how people will be writing fewer books in the future and how he believes truly human writing will stand out among AI-generated content. Enjoy! Redeem your free week of Lex at https://lex.page/perell 0:00 Intro 1:00 How Tyler Cowen uses AI everyday 6:06 Hallucinations are rapidly declining now 9:28 Writing authentically with AI 11:34 AI for critiquing your work 17:29 Future of decentralized AI networks 20:34 How and why DeepSeek 22:21 How AI changes writing 24:04 Why there will be less books in an AI era 26:34 Video content will rise 28:17 Start Writing with AI [LEX AD] 29:18 AI Writing a personal biography 30:46 How you can tactically learning about AI 37:12 How AI can help you visualize information 38:31 Creating the perfect AI prompt 42:10 AI's impact in the classroom 46:56 Studying The Bible with AI 49:11 Secrets 50:10 Why social networks are more important now 51:48 Mastering AI prompting 53:58 Mentoring young people 54:49 Would you invest 4 years in a PhD 59:59 Perplexity replaces Google 01:01:09 The different AI tools, explained 01:05:43 The potential of large context windows 01:08:11 AI usage inside companies I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv  X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana Gioia is a poet, former Chairman of the NEA, and one of America's most insightful writers on the craft of poetry and prose. This is the deepest conversation I've ever had about writing. Dana breaks down the writing process from his first drafts to revision, and shares practical wisdom about finding your voice and creating work that lasts. His straightforward approach makes writing less intimidating and more accessible to anyone who loves language. Enjoy! Get 60 days free Readwise Reader at https://readwise.io/davidperell/ 0:00 First Drafts 7:52 The Power of Saying No 11:48 Objectivity in Writing 18:05 Learning from Writers 21:29 Daily Writing Routine 28:30 Poetry Analysis: Catullus 29:05 Production vs Consumption 36:07 Opera as Poetic Drama 43:47 Finding Your Voice 46:09 Personal vs Universal Writing 52:17 Breaking into Publishing 57:01 Writing Through Grief 1:05:21 Emotional Directness 1:10:16 Teaching Poetry 1:14:30 Poetry in Education 1:20:48 Unifying Literary Works 1:23:15 Patience in Writing 1:26:17 Improving Your Poetry 1:30:48 The Art of Description 1:34:34 Reading to Write Better 1:38:08 Creating a Masterpiece 1:45:08 Book Writing Process 1:47:45 The Art of Revision 1:48:45 Peer Feedback 1:55:47 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader] 1:57:11 Anatomy of a Poem 2:02:29 Writing with Gratitude 2:08:00 Corporate World Lessons 2:16:40 Writing in Digital Culture 2:24:30 Poetry and Magic 2:28:55 Being a Catholic Writer 2:36:17 Catholic Literary Culture 2:37:40 Biblical Language in Poetry 2:39:51 Commonplace Books 2:45:24 Literary Influences 2:51:38 Cheever on Death 2:53:11 Tarantino vs. Tolkien 2:54:54 Tolstoy vs. Dostoevsky 2:55:47 The Modern Novel 3:01:18 Characters in Opera 3:09:06 Understanding Your Genre Dana Gioia https://danagioia.com I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ward Farnsworth is a law professor and former dean at the University of Texas School of Law who has written popular books about clear thinking, language, and philosophy. His books include Classical English Style and works on rhetoric and legal writing. He’s a genius at making complex ideas simple and useful for everyday life. Enjoy! Get 60 days free Readwise Reader at https://readwise.io/davidperell/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:53 Example 1 (King James Bible) 00:07:09 Example 2 (Winston Churchill) 00:11:45 Example 3 (Winston Churchill) 00:15:19 Example 4 (King James Bible) 00:18:18 Example 5 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:22:57 Example 6 (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.) 00:26:40 Classical English Rhetoric 00:27:40 Example 7 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:29:59 Example 8 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:31:48 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader] 00:33:15 Example 9 (Winston Churchill) 00:35:53 Example 10 (Lloyd Bentsen) 00:38:34 Example 11 (JFK) 00:42:00 Example 12 (Abraham Lincoln) 00:43:40 Example 13 (Henry Fielding - Tom Jones) 00:45:32 Example 14 (King James Bible) 00:47:42 The 3 Techniques, explained 00:52:24 Practical advice for everyone 00:56:08 The ideal writing curriculum WARD FARNSWORTH http://wardfarnsworth.com/ I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. FOLLOW ME YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Hormozi has written two killer business books that have sold more than 1M copies. His writing has gotten him to 9M followers across social media. This is the first interview where he breaks down his writing system. Get 60 days free Readwise Reader at https://readwise.io/davidperell/ I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:20 Hormozi’s cave 00:05:35 Discovery process 00:12:32 Fix problems using MECE 00:13:43 Marketing “$100M Leads” 00:20:55 Writing for YouTube vs Books 00:27:13 The pain is the pitch 00:31:37 Break down the world into frameworks 00:34:09 10x more effort = 1000x results 00:38:24 Understanding the table of contents 00:49:27 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader] 00:50:53 How to think about your audience 00:54:22 The #1 creator mistake 00:57:58 The business of Hormozi’s books 01:02:04 The love for writing as a kid 01:04:34 Hormozi’s ideal university writing class ALEX HORMOZI https://www.youtube.com/@AlexHormozi https://www.instagram.com/hormozi/ https://x.com/alexhormozi/ https://acquisition.com FOLLOW ME YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I share my very favorite clips from world-class experts I interviewed last year. Their combined 171 years of writing experience is tightly packed into this 90-minute video. Enjoy! I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/ Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you know the difference between a banger journal entry and the foundation of a memoir? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, then this conversation is for you.Tucker is a memoir guru, having sold 5 million copies of his own memoir (“I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”) and millions more of ghostwritten memoirs (for names like Tiffany Haddish and David Goggins). All of Tucker’s expertise can be dwindled down to three words: tell the truth. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.In this episode, you’ll learn everything it takes to write a bestselling memoir: how to tell a great story, how to infuse your work with humor, how to turn your suffering into art, and how to make sure you’re ready to write a memoir in the first place. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to tell the unencumbered truth — the right way. Website: https://www.tuckermax.com/ Twitter: @TuckerMax Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory, one of the most praised novels of the decade. His writing absolutely explodes with life. But perhaps Richard’s most impressive skill is his character development. And we’re not talking about the stodgy character arc you learned in English class. Richard shares 40+ years and 14 novels worth of insight on how to write characters that readers can’t get out of their head.  This episode is a deep dive into the psychoanalytical complexities of character: drama and tension, thinking and feeling, motivation and suspense. Plus, we dive into the three different types of character-driven drama: People against People, People against Themselves, and People against the Environment.  In a nutshell, this episode is a novel-writing masterclass that you don’t want to miss.  SPEAKER LINKS:  Website: https://www.richardpowers.net/ Books: https://www.richardpowers.net/category/novel/ New Novel “Playground”: https://a.co/d/g9nzmbO WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the final class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know him as the CEO of OpenAI — but did you know that Sam Altman is an avid writer?  As one of today’s most successful entrepreneurs, Sam champions the tremendous value of writing: how it clarifies your thinking, expands your ideas, and levels-up your life in every sense, both personally and professionally. Plus, he has a love for the creative. (Have you ever met someone who can recite Percy Bysshe Shelley poems from memory? Well, Sam can.)  In this episode, we discuss how Sam uses ChatGPT in his daily life; how LLMs are changing the future of writing; what it means to be a novelist in the age of technology; and Sam’s best-learned writing lessons from Paul Graham. If you want to learn how the king of ChatGPT writes, this episode is for you.  SPEAKER LINKS:  Website: https://openai.com/ Blog: https://blog.samaltman.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sama WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the final class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert went from being “a drunk, failed screenwriter” to writing seven bestsellers with millions of copies sold. Entrepreneurs, politicians, and hip-hop artists like 50 Cent all love his work. His secret ingredient? Storytelling. In Robert’s eyes, story is a form of seduction. So, welcome to 76-minutes of seductive storytelling advice. You’ll learn how to write stories that have timeless resonance, swapping cute and clever for crisp and clear. You’ll dive deep into style, themes, research, and revision. And you’ll hear all the nitty-gritty details that make a story sell.  And his books have flown off the shelves. 48 Laws of Power has sold millions of copies, and is as popular today as it was when it came out 25 years ago.  If you want behind-the-scenes storytelling advice from a seasoned bestselling author, this episode is for you.  SPEAKER LINKS:  Website: https://powerseductionandwar.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/RobertGreene Book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Greene/author/B001IGV3IS YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/RobertGreeneOfficial WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 74-minutes of storytelling strategy that’s better than all of your English classes combined. Nick is a journalist who has written for The New York Times and Vanity Fair. He’s a screenwriter, an author, a murder mystery enthusiast. In other words, he knows how to push a story through a brick wall. And he’s going to show you how you can, too.  This episode is the ultimate storytelling toolkit. Cliffhangers. Tension. Dialogue. Character. Motifs. You’ll learn it all.  And here’s the thing: if you can tell great stories, then you will succeed in life. Stories make up our entire world — from a politician’s speech to the back of a cereal box to a dinner party with friends. Good storytellers always have the upper hand. So, if you want to tell fast-paced and dizzying stories, this episode is for you.  SPEAKER LINKS:  Website: https://www.nickbilton.com/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nick-Bilton/author/B003UP0RIM Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/contributor/nick-bilton Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickbilton Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickbilton WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I’ll never forget the first patient whom I ever saw die.” Sheesh, what an opening line, right? Peter has an outstanding resume: he’s a medical surgeon, a Stanford grad, and a longevity expert with 25+ years of industry experience — not to mention, a published author who has sold over two million copies of his book, Outlive.  In a nutshell, Peter is a prime example of what can happen when you share your expertise through writing. And he’s going to help you get started.  In this episode, you’ll learn how Peter wrote his first book — frameworks, strategies, how he packages industry expertise in a way that’s digestible for the masses — and how you can, too. If you’ve been burning to turn your expertise into a bestseller, this episode is for you. SPEAKER LINKS:  Website: https://peterattiamd.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeterAttiaMD Twitter: https://x.com/PeterAttiaMD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd Newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter Book: https://a.co/d/57euBtR WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Become a better writer in just five weeks. Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if writing a newsletter could pay your rent? Well, it can. And today, you’re going to learn how. Ben Thompson makes millions of dollars a year with his writing. He’s the OG of subscription-based newsletter writers. Maybe that’s your dream, too, but you’re plagued by questions like: “What should I write about?” “What’s my business model?” “How do I make my first dollar online?” We’re so glad you asked; because Ben has the answers. In this episode, you’ll learn his exact playbook for how to monetize your writing — not just for right now, but also for the future.  Ben’s blog, Stratechery, is the OG of subscription-based newsletters and actually inspired the creation of Substack. If you’ve ever wondered what a day-in-the-life of someone who makes millions of dollars writing looks like, now’s your chance.  SPEAKER LINKS:  Website & Newsletter: https://stratechery.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/benthompson WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever thought to yourself, “I would love to write a memoir someday”?  Then you’re in the right place. Rob has an exceptional story — from foster care to Yale, from a troubled childhood to a best-selling memoir called Troubled — and in this episode, he demystifies the memoir-writing process just for you.   We cover questions like: Which stories are worthy of sharing? How do you pace the narrative? How do you excavate difficult memories? How do you balance the emotional highs with the lows? Buckle up, and get ready to learn how to write a gripping memoir. SPEAKER LINKS:  Newsletter: https://www.robkhenderson.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/robkhenderson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robkhenderson/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Troubled-Memoir-Foster-Family-Social/dp/1982168536 WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your success as a writer boils down to your style. And today, you’re going to learn how to master the two different types of style — minimalism vs. maximalism — from the style-king himself: The Cultural Tutor.  Minimalism is clear, concise, and direct. It distills an idea. Maximalism captures the texture, the nuance, the beauty of life. It creates an environment for your reader to inhabit. Style is a spectrum. And the sweet spot of memorable writing comes from the tension of competing forces — concision and beauty; Simplicity and texture; minimalism and maximalism.  If you want to develop a distinct and unforgettable style, then this episode is for you. WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Website: https://culturaltutor.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/culturaltutor WRITING EXAMPLES: Sign up and learn from the best writing of all time: https://www.writingexamples.com WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Katy Perry, Charles Dickens, and the Bible all have in common? They’re responsible for some of the most famous lines in history. And in this episode, you’ll find out why.  Mark, an author and mad scientist of language, reveals the secret sauce to memorable writing: rhetorical devices. Chiasmus. Anaphora. Antithesis. Synecdoche.  Writing today (i.e. texting and Tweeting) is concise and hyper-minimal — which is fine, if you’re writing the instruction manual for a new dishwasher. But the most memorable works of writing lean into the beauty of words. It’s not about using overly purple prose. It’s about using rhetorical formulas to create unforgettable lines, to shape ideas that stick in your reader’s brain.  If you want to write something that sticks in your reader’s brain — a book, a poem, a speech — then this episode is for you. SPEAKER LINKS:  Twitter: https://x.com/inkyfool Blog: https://blog.inkyfool.com/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B005Z05REO WRITE OF PASSAGE:  Want to learn more about the next class Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.com/ PODCAST LINKS:  Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices