Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell

Atul Gawande has written four books and countless articles for The New Yorker. When you think about doctors who write well, he's going to be the first person who comes to mind.

What's unique about him is that this isn't something that came naturally. The work of research, writing, editing, shaping sentences, telling stories: those are all things that he taught himself.

He's a surgeon, and he's still been able to write as much as he has. How has he done it? What has the discipline of writing for him been? That's what this episode is all about.

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

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell

Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York, came on the show to talk about how he wrote his way to five published books and 13 million Instagram followers. Along the way, the man basically invented his own genre of biography. There are short stories, there are long stories.

What he would do every single day is he'd walk out onto the streets of New York, photograph people, and interview them. He would say, "How do I tell this person's story?"

What he discovered is that these people's stories were stories about the human condition itself. It went completely viral.

So if you're interested in thinking about how to tell better stories about people, how to find your voice as a writer, then you're going to like this conversation.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Sublime at https://sublime.app/?ref=perell

So what is it that he does to find stories, to research them, to turn them into writing that just makes people flip from page to page? Lush, vivid prose, great descriptions. How does he do it?

That's what this conversation's all about.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Orlean writes nonfiction books that read like fiction, sort of working in the style of Joan Didion or Tom Wolfe. But what makes her different is how intentional she is about her writing process.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Sagmeister is the author of six books and one of the most influential designers in the world. He's won multiple Grammy Awards for his designs, and he's designed album covers for people like Jay-Z and David Byrne, the Rolling Stones.

But he's a writer. What does he write about? Well, design, beauty, how to find good ideas.

You'll notice when you pick up one of his books that the form, the style, the vibe, the typography is every bit as important as the content. This is really about design, beauty, and why our world looks the way it does. 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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morgan Housel is one of the top non-fiction writers in the world. He is most famous for his book “The Psychology of Money”, which has now sold more than 8 million copies.

Before he wrote the book, he wrote more than 4,000 blog posts for publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool, and that’s how he honed his craft. This is my second time having Morgan on the show. The first time, I just wanted to talk about Morgan, how he goes about his work. But this time I said: “Tell me about stories.”

“How do you find stories? How do you tell stories? How do you think about the rhythm of stories?” That’s why he’s been able to sell millions of books in the world of psychology, investing, and business: because of his ability to tell a really good story. Enjoy!

00:00:50 Collecting Good Stories
00:04:12 Storytelling Beats Facts
00:05:16 How to Hook Readers
00:08:39 How Morgan Uses ChatGPT
00:15:53 Teaching vs Preaching in Writing
00:18:01 The #1 Worst Writing Advice
00:25:18 Wide Funnel, Tight Filter Framework
00:27:08 How to Find Your Writing Style
00:31:45 Why Write Books in an Online World
00:36:20 How Morgan Wrote ‘The Art of Spending Money’
00:47:16 Morgan’s Admiration for Beautiful Writing
00:53:28 How to Start a Chapter
00:57:18 Becoming More Observant
01:01:01 You Don’t Need New Ideas
01:08:16 How Morgan Deals With Rejection

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can’t walk through an airport without seeing a Mitch Albom book on one of the shelves. He’s most famous for writing Tuesdays with Morrie, which may very well be the best-selling memoir of all time. He’s now written 14 books, which combined have sold more than 40 million copies.

In 45 years of hitting the keyboard, this is the deepest conversation he’s ever had about the craft of writing. I asked him to approach this like a college writing seminar. Give me the rigor. Give me the examples, baby. Show me how you go about your craft.

And that’s what he did. He taught me the ins-and-outs of character building, writing novels, and our conversation started with how to tell great stories.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Dan Wang, a writer and analyst whose annual letters from China have become a first draft of modern Chinese history. We talked about how he blends personal observation with deep analysis, how to skip the cliches and write with texture instead, and how classical music and literature have shaped his writing style.

What’s unique about Dan is that he built a name for himself by writing one essay per year (in an age where writers are encouraged to publish consistently). We also talked about his approach to travel writing, the difference between living in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, how AI is changing the way he thinks (but not how he writes), and why China’s influencer culture is his least favorite thing about the country.

00:1:04 Why Dan writes Annual Letters
00:07:53 Dan’s favorite novel
00:15:01 Dan’s method for writing
00:26:02 Why most travel writing stinks
00:30:44 How to travel through China
00:33:05 The regions of China, explained
00:44:47 Trade books vs. academic books
00:53:46 The problem with history books
01:01:42 Did Dan write his book with AI?
01:10:50 Dan’s least favorite part about China
1:15:42 A critique of American elites
1:33:08 Dan’s website got blocked in China
1:39:52 What China mocks about America
1:54:49 A simple way to improve your writing

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Ada Limón and Joy Harjo, two of America’s most celebrated poets and former U.S. Poet Laureates. We talked about the art of deep listening, how to translate the music of the world into language, and why silence is never empty but always alive. We explored how poetry resists “clock time,” why metaphor is essential to truth, how culture lives through song and dance, and what it means to trust your voice across a lifetime of writing.If you want to write with more presence, rediscover the mystery of language, or understand how poetry can awaken a deeper way of being, this conversation will give you timeless insights from two masters of the craft.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interviewed Jack and Ryan from AJR, the band that has built one of the most original voices in modern music. We talked about how they use humor and vulnerability to write songs that connect on a deeper level, why embarrassment is often the best creative compass, how Broadway and magic inspire their live shows, and what they’ve learned about navigating TikTok, streaming, and the new economics of the music industry. We also explored their thoughts on AI, why imperfection makes art feel authentic, and how they’ve grown from writing dorm-room party songs to filling arenas around the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices