How I Write

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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.

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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
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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
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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
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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