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

How NY Times Bestselling Memoirist Lisa Brennan-Jobs Writes: Part Two


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In Part Two of this file the New York Times bestselling memoirist and journalist, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, returned to talk about her decades long journey to publication, why it's so important to find yourself in the pages, the meaning of memory, and the impostor syndrome that all writers face ... especially the kids of celebrities.

"Writing can be the master, it can't be the servant of your time.” – Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Lisa is a Brooklyn based writer whose father was the widely worshipped tech pioneer and entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, best known as the co-founder of Apple.

Her first book, Small Fry, is her lauded memoir about growing up being shuffled between single parents in Silicon Valley during the 1980s and '90s, always in the orbit of her celebrity dad and struggling artist mom.

Small Fry was a New York Times, New Yorker, and People Magazine Top 10 Book of the Year for 2018, and Best Book of the Year for the LA Times, NPR, Amazon, GQ, Vogue (UK), and Publishers Weekly.

The book has been called, “Beautiful, literary, and devastating,” by the New York Times Book Review, “A masterly Silicon Valley gothic,” by Vogue, and “Mesmerizing, discomfiting reading,” by The New Yorker.

This episode of The Writer Files is brought to you by the team at Author Accelerator. Author Accelerator book coaches give writers feedback, accountability, and support while you write, so you can get that your idea out of your head and onto the page.


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If you missed the first half of this show you can find it right here. And If you’ve missed previous episodes of The Writer Files you can find them all in the archives at writerfiles.fm, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.

In Part Two of this file Lisa Brennan-Jobs and I discussed:

  • How being bored and uncomfortable can lead to breakthrough
  • Why the writing process needs to be the master, not the servant, of your time
  • The importance of not rushing to publish
  • How the author minimizes distractions and comparative thinking while she writes
  • What it's like to travel through time and get the things you’ve always longed for
  • How big words can distract from the impact of your story
  • And why you need to write the stories you thought you might take to your grave
  • Show Notes:

    • Author Accelerator
    • How NY Times Bestselling Memoirist Lisa Brennan-Jobs Writes: Part One
    • LisaBrennanJobs.net
    • Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs [Amazon]
    • Lisa Brennan-Jobs on Twitter
    • Kelton Reid on Twitter
    • Please click the PayPal Donate button to support The Writer Files with a secure PayPal donation
    • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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