How I Write

By David PerellSociety & Culture Education Arts Books

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How I Write episodes

October 07 Robert Greene: The Unwritten Laws of Great Writing | How I Write
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.

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1 hr 40 min
September 30 Andy Weir: Project Hail Mary Author Teaches Writing | How I Write
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
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1 hr 12 min
September 28 Mark Normand: How to Make Your Writing More Funny | How I Write
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

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49 min
September 23 Michael Arndt: Oscar-Winning Writer Teaches Storytelling | How I Write
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

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1 hr 18 min
September 16 Francine Prose: This Is What a Harvard Writing Masterclass Feels Like | How I Write
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

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59 min
September 09 Harlan Coben: Tough Love Advice for Every Writer | How I Write
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

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1 hr 16 min
September 02 R.F. Kuang: Meet The Writer Who Sold Millions of Books Before 30 | How I Write
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

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1 hr 8 min
August 26 Matt Haig: How to Write a Book Millions of People Read | How I Write
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

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58 min
August 19 Elif Shafak & Robert Macfarlane: Two Novelists Have an Epic Conversation | How I Write
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

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1 hr 5 min
August 12 Andrew Sean Greer: Pulitzer Winner Teaches Writing | How I Write
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

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1 hr 14 min