Who better to explore one of popular writing’s most contested modern debates than an icon who has worked on both sides of that debate? That’s why today’s episode of The Writing Process Podcast, the final of this first season, is with T.I.

Conventional wisdom tells that the process of developing rap lyrics was polarized by the genre’s most prolific star: Jay-Z maintained he would develop lyrics in his mind, influencing Biggie’s habit of not writing lyrics either. That transformed a generation of rap stars into memory-led lyricists.

The debate is at the heart of whether hip hop, which developed out of an improvisation and oral storytelling tradition, can only be authentically conjured from memory, or if as a newly global movement, it is only now maturing into an writing and editing process familiar to other media.

Atlanta-bred King of the South T.I. became a transformational figure in that paradigm in 2008 when he actively promoted his return to writing and line-editing his lyrics with his Paper Trail album. His 2001 debut I’m Serious had been thoroughly written, in between selling crack, but his next several albums followed the pattern of editing in mind.

Since then, as his mainstream celebrity has blossomed, T.I. has come to represent a crucial data point in this writing trend.

This episode of the podcast focuses heavily on his personal journey as a creative but there is still advice for the rest of us. T.I. has fought for how he wants to be seen and how his creative pursuits influence it. We ought not forget it.

One of the highest profile jobs for young comics is a correspondent role on The Daily Show, the acclaimed satire-news anchor. Today’s guest has just that.

Atlanta-bred comedian has appeared on Conan and in 2017 was highlighted by Rolling Stone as among 10 comedians to watch. Last fall, she joined the cast of the Comedy Central staple.

In this episode of The Writing Process, hear her talk about when she chooses to write a joke on stage and when she crafts it on paper.

Among the lessons from this episode is the power of being succinct. Sloan is still developing her own ruthlessness in getting to her punchline. We can work on the same.

Inside tiny edits, there are big secrets.

One of my favorite contemporary musicians is singer-songwriter John Elliott. For the eighth episode of this first season of The Writing Process Podcast, I spoke to the Minnesota-native and San Francisco-based independent artist.

In this episode, I unpack two of powerful writing ideas he exemplifies: leaving space for the reader to co-create and editing to get “more true.”

As an artist I’ve come to know personally, I can speak to John’s personal commitment to giving his work everything he has. This is no hobby of his, and the challenges that come with that is something the rest of us must consider.

For as subjective as poetry can be, there is little ambiguity is being named a finalist for a National Book Award in poetry.

That’s what Danez Smith earned with the 2017 poetry collection Don’t Call Us Dead. Hear from Danez in today’s episode of my Writing Process Podcast.

Danez, who uses they/them/their pronouns, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they were first introduced to editing. First in high school as a poetry performer, Danez was accustomed to writing by “adding words and reading them faster.” Then in college, the idea of creating for hours to find just that “little bit of language” that is worth sustaining.

This became a dominant part of the conversation I had. Here are a few takeaways that I took:

Danez was fun and bright and oh so patient with early technical challenges.

The editing experience is always challenging. But it’s perhaps most difficult when you are telling your own story.

That is the focus of what I discussed with memoirist and journalist Lori Tharps, who is most recently a collaborator on Proud, the autobiography of Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first woman in hijab to compete for the United States in the Olympics. Tharps, herself, has written memoir in several forms, including her 2008 book Kinky Gazpacho.

Among other topics in our half-hour discussion, we hit these concepts:

Blair Thornburgh comes from “book people, going back generations.”

The author of the 2017 Young Adult Fiction novel “Who’s That Girl” from HarperCollins, she says there is a saying around her family. Never give a Thornburgh a book — or you’ll be forced to sit there politely while they read it in front of you.

She’s just 28 but as an editor at beloved novelty publisher Quirk Books and in the midst of a two-book deal with a major industry powerhouse, she has some insight.

The author of two books, an editor on several others and working on her next novel, she reminds us that the joy of a book is that, as author, “you’re making a promise to the reader” and want to deliver.

Among the topics, here’s what we discussed:

For extras, listen here Blair talk about the business of selling books and here for thoughts about what’s harder, writing funny or writing sad.

How does a joke writer take a punchline from a voice memo to a major Netflix comedy special? Let’s ask celebrated standup comedian Todd Glass.

In the fourth episode of the first season of the weekly Writing Process Podcast, I discuss that among many other methodologies from a man who doesn’t quite consider himself a writer. Todd’s perspective is unique: he grew up with several learning disabilities, so his relationship to writing is far different than others.

Unlike other comics, he won’t write his jokes out longform. He uses writing as a means to create order and structure, not precision. But he has a real process. Among the other topics we hit:

Below, watch the trailer for his new Netflix special:

Also, in this episode, I mention the heartfelt 2012 interview he did on the WTF podcast, during which Todd first came out as a gay publicly. Find that here.

And this is just a silly interview in which Todd Glass gets high with Sarah Silverman.

As hip hop became a global, cultural force, the definition of rapper has stretched.

But its origins, as a cornerstone of live events, remain very much alive in people like Chill Moody. A native of West Philadelphia, Chill is an effortless emcee on stage and fiercely proud of his lyrics. Though he grew up in the economically distressed (though by no means monolithic) Overbrook neighborhood, Chill excelled academically and came from a supportive family — his real name is Eric Moody but since he was always at ease, he earned a lifelong nickname. As a much-beloved underground artist, he uses music as a storytelling platform, for his experience and those like him.

But Chill isn’t just another rapper trying to make it. He gets advice from legendary Roots cofounder Black Thought and beats from Daru Jones, well known as the drummer for rock star Jack White. This week, he’ll curate a stage at the massive Wawa Welcome America July 4th celebration in his native Philadelphia.

But he identifies as a writer first. Each year, he sets off on an annual 100-day writing challenge, in which he aims to write at least one full verse every day. He reached that discipline by following a familiar creative journey: discovering that a writing voice can only be found when one is true to oneself.

Listen to this episode for more on the lessons about doing this yourself.

Then listen for more about Chill’s earliest experience with academic failure (in handwriting) here and his family influences here.

With her What We Lose, Zinzi Clemmons had the breakthrough debut novel you might dream of.

Upon its release last year, Vogue called it the ‘debut novel of the year;’ Vanity Fair called it “powerful” and the Atlantic called it “striking.” She was named a National Book Award 5 Under 35 Honoree, and the New York Times profiled her.

Though she is exceptional for these and other reasons (prestigious universities, born of a mixed-race South African immigrant mother), Zinzi has plenty to offer other writers by way of advice. It helps that she teaches writing at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

In this second episode of the Writing Process, we consider some of this ground:

Watch this recent interview Zinzi had following the release of the book’s paperback issue. Find Zinzi Clemmons on Twitter here.

In the pilot episode of my new weekly podcast The Writing Process, I speak with my dear friend Jess Estepa. She’s a national politics reporter for USA Today.

She also was the first person I called when I wanted to figure out what exactly I wanted to accomplish with this idea of mine. I knew I wanted to capture real lessons on writing from lots of different forms, but I wasn’t quite sure how to approach it. Jess patiently let me sort that out.

In this first-ever episode, among the topics, we cover the following:

Given that this was my very first interview from way back in January, you’re going to find slightly different forms in future episodes. But Jess is thoughtful enough that her insights broke through my clumsiness in this first go-around.

For my fellow journalism nerds, you can find a bit more of our interview, where we dove more deeply into the journalism stuff here.