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

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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

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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