The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

How Hugo Award Winning Sci-Fi Author John Scalzi Writes: Part Two


Listen Later

The Hugo winner and multiple New York Times bestselling science fiction author, John Scalzi, took a break from his whirlwind new book tour to chat with me about The Collapsing Empire, the timely importance of great storytelling, and what makes a writer truly great.

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!His wildly popular debut novel, Old Man’s War, began as a serialized blog before attracting attention from an agent. Its 2006 publication earned him a Hugo nomination and multiple awards.

Since then he’s written dozens of novels including New York Times bestsellers The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, Redshirts (2013’s Hugo winner for Best Novel), and Lock In. His work has been translated into over 20 languages and multiple projects have been optioned for film and TV.

It’s no surprise that the prolific author has been a professional writer since the early ’90s. In addition to his award-winning blog, “Whatever,” John has written: freelance journalism, novellas, short stories, a wide-range of non-fiction, video games, been a Creative Consultant for a hit TV series, and remains a Critic at Large for the LA Times.

In 2015 the author signed a multi-million dollar deal with Tor Books for 13 titles over 10 years, and the first of those is The Collapsing Empire, a bestselling interstellar space opera that’s been described as “Game of Thrones meets Dune.”

If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, click subscribe to automatically see new interviews.

In Part Two of this file John Scalzi and I discuss:

  • Why this isn’t the worst time in human history … by a long shot
  • The writer’s unique workflow and technological polyglotism
  • Creativity as a survival instinct
  • How luck and persistence can play a part in your success as a writer
  • Why you really only need to focus on the things you can control

  • The Show Notes:

    • If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress
    • How Hugo Award Winning Sci-Fi Author John Scalzi Writes: Part One
    • Whatever – John Scalzi’s Hugo Award winning blog
    • Announcing The Expanding Tour 2017! 24 Cities! Five Weeks!
    • The Collapsing Empire – John Scalzi
    • John Scalzi’s author page on Amazon
    • John Scalzi, Science Fiction Writer, Signs $3.4 Million Deal for 13 Books – New York Times
    • John Scalzi on Twitter
    • Kelton Reid on Twitter
    • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and NeuroscienceBy Kelton Reid

      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5

      4.5

      211 ratings


      More shows like The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

      View all
      The Book Review by The New York Times

      The Book Review

      3,853 Listeners

      On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

      On Being with Krista Tippett

      10,360 Listeners

      The New Yorker: Fiction by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The New Yorker: Fiction

      3,315 Listeners

      The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers by Joanna Penn

      The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

      614 Listeners

      Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland

      Helping Writers Become Authors

      961 Listeners

      Otherppl with Brad Listi by Brad Listi

      Otherppl with Brad Listi

      502 Listeners

      Writing Excuses by Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

      Writing Excuses

      1,294 Listeners

      The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

      The History of Literature

      1,092 Listeners

      The History of Standup by Wayne Federman & Andrew Steven / The Podglomerate

      The History of Standup

      335 Listeners

      Micheaux Mission by The Podglomerate / Micheaux Mission

      Micheaux Mission

      211 Listeners

      Freelance to Founder by Millo / The Podglomerate

      Freelance to Founder

      69 Listeners

      Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson

      Writer's Routine

      299 Listeners

      Book Dreams by Eve Yohalem and Julie Sternberg / The Podglomerate

      Book Dreams

      57 Listeners

      Fiction Writing Made Easy by Savannah Gilbo

      Fiction Writing Made Easy

      1,427 Listeners

      The Shit No One Tells You About Writing by Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

      The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

      750 Listeners

      Trail Weight by Andrew Steven / The Podglomerate

      Trail Weight

      62 Listeners

      Poured Over by Barnes & Noble

      Poured Over

      294 Listeners

      31 for 31 by Chris Boniello, Jamie Lansdowne, and Cody Mason

      31 for 31

      14 Listeners

      NPR's Book of the Day by NPR

      NPR's Book of the Day

      605 Listeners

      Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer

      Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

      356 Listeners

      Writers on Writing by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone

      Writers on Writing

      72 Listeners

      No Write Way with V. E. Schwab by V. E. Schwab (Author)

      No Write Way with V. E. Schwab

      67 Listeners