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Ryan Holiday is one of the world’s most prolific writers. He’s published sixteen books, written a daily email newsletter every day for the past eight years, has 1.7 million YouTube subscribers, and runs his own creative agency. (Reciting that list is difficult enough to remember, let alone accomplishing all of those things.)
This conversation will get you off your butt as a writer. It’s 78-minutes of learning how to generate creative inertia for yourself — because that’s where Ryan thrives. He’s a no-BS writer. And by “no BS,” I mean: no coddling or making excuses for himself. He’s exceptional at just doing the work. Generating that kind of momentum is exactly what fires me up, and exactly what I teach at Write of Passage. If you’re feeling called to write, you should join one of our programs. I’m telling you: Write of Passage will light a fire inside of you.
I recently heard a story about Ryan that sums him up in a nutshell. His editor called to congratulate him on hitting the #3 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. His book had only been out for a week. I don’t know about you, but I would be camped out by the phone, biting my nails while I waited for that call. But Ryan? Ryan was heads-down writing, halfway done with his next book. And today, you’ll learn exactly how he generates that level of momentum.
WRITE OF PASSAGE:
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:06:00 Book launches
00:08:55 Quantity vs Quality
00:11:35 Process of writing a book
00:15:00 Ryan's note card system
00:18:20 How Ryan's writing has evolved
00:21:40 How Ryan's writing has improved
00:23:55 Editing
00:26:45 Great introductions
00:30:55 Your next big piece
00:32:40 Breaking down Marcus Aurelius
00:38:40 Writing Examples
00:39:17 How music helps you write
00:41:15 Best advice about reading
00:45:10 Research for your writing
00:47:10 Schedule and productivity
00:50:10 Reading for style vs content
00:51:10 What will be Ryan's next book?
00:51:50 Biographies
00:54:10 Criticism
00:55:20 Feedback (like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm)
01:00:30 When are you ready to start writing a book
01:01:45 Fear of failure
01:05:30 Momentum
01:05:50 Storytelling
01:12:30 Top lessons from Ryan
01:12:50 Getting more practice (reps)
PODCAST LINKS:
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
ABOUT THE HOST:
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.
How I Write is a podcast by Write of Passage // Production by Adam Soccolich