How I Write

Before book sales and PR buzz, your favorite writers began with two things: the blank page and an idea. Each week on How I Write, we go behind-the-scenes with today’s top writers to uncover the meta-mechanics of writing and the lifestyle behind it. You’ll be the first to hear writers deconstruct their creative process: from banging their head on the keyboard to marking the last period of their final draft. Victory. Come discover how great writing is made. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be next. New episodes of the How I Write show go live every week on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.com/DavidPerellChannel.

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Episodes

Lenny Rachitsky: How This Ex-Airbnb Product Manager Created A Top Newsletter On Substack

Lenny writes one of the top five business newsletters on Substack — which has amassed over 500,000 subscribers. He hosts a podcast that makes him more money than he made in corporate America. And he’s built a raving X audience of over 188,000. No training. No ego. And to top it all off, he writes in one of the most oversaturated markets on the Internet: product management. How does he do it? After his first Substack post went viral, “What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business...

Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 23 min

Riva Tez: Becoming A Free Thinker

Riva Tez is one of the freest writers I know. It’s as if the boundaries of conventional thinking don’t apply to her. She’s allergic to dogma and passionate about questioning the taboos of our time, and her obsessive research gene has given her a knack for stumbling upon forgotten and under-explored ideas. She’s a singular human being. Part of her brilliance is the way she combines her love for Rilke’s poetry with an interest in philosophy, theology, and consciousness. In all three areas, she goe...

Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 25 min

Sam Parr: How To Make $2 Million A Month By Writing

Sam is a master copywriter and business builder. If there was ever somebody who knows how to turn online writing into cash, Sam is it. In this episode, Sam shows how you can sell at scale and where to find the opportunities in the business of writing. We’ll teach you how to think through headlines, find content for your own writing, and torch the internet with your ideas. Sam started in the early days of email newsletters and he was a master of writing viral content. He tells the story about pla...

Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 11 min

Marc Andreessen: It’s Time To Write

Marc Andreessen deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of Silicon Valley. His presence in the tech space is unprecedented and he's one of the most prolific investors. The world of online writing is in debt to him. He co-founded Netscape, where he created the first popular web browser. He invented the tweetstorm, and has helped form the internet. He coined the idea “software is eating the world”, which has defined humanity's evolution over the last decade. Marc isn’t just a mad man creator. He’s ...

Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 18 min

Ava: The Emotions of Writing

How do you create intimacy and connection with readers? While some writers have a way of letting you inside their mind, Ava (@noampomsky) has a way of letting you inside her heart. There's an intimacy about her writing - an honesty, a tenderness, a contemplative-ness, a sense of connection that shows up in her work and it's what makes her unique. Ava sees writing as a distinct form of consciousness. This process of continually excavating your mind to find out what you think and then eventually y...

Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 18 min

Derek Sivers: No Wasted Words

It’s hard to capture in words the love and creativity that Derek Sivers brings to his work. He describes himself as a “monomaniac, introvert, and slow thinker.” But those words just reveal his humility. Derek’s work has charmed millions — from his early days as a professional musician and circus performer, to founding CD Baby, writing fan favorites like Anything You Want and taking the stage at TED. In this conversation, Derek shares how he finds his best ideas, why he plans to publish a “posthu...

Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 12 min

Kevin Kelly: On Fame, Structuring Ideas, Writing Books, and Founding Wired Magazine

Kevin Kelly is one of the most important tech writers of the last half century. Kevin started as the publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of Steve Jobs’ favorite publications. After being mentored by Stewart Brand, he started writing books and magazine pieces before cofounding Wired Magazine. He has since become a prolific author - writing one feature article for Wired Magazine every year, and writing numerous bestselling books. The man is full of mysteries. Kevin write...

Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 18 min

Lulu Cheng Meservey: The PR Class You Didn’t Know You Needed

Lulu Cheng Meservey gives a masterclass on non-boring corporate communications, Korean pop culture, and religious fanaticism. Lulu shares what she’s learned running comms for startups, decoding cultural erogenous zones, and crafting impactful messages in 280 characters or less. Whether you're a writer, a communications professional, or simply curious about the intersection of K-POP and Internet whackos, this podcast is a window into modern communication. Lulu is currently the Executive Vice Pres...

Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 11 min

Derek Thompson: From Acting to the Eminem of Macroeconomic Analysis

Derek Thompson weaves together ideas from all over the place — economics, public policy, sports, and even pop culture. His writing is a breath of fresh air in a world of cookie cutter Internet content. Where other click-hungry journalists have caved to antagonistic practices, Derek’s writing is cool and charitable. And it’s also poetic. With a background in theater, he draws inspiration from the likes of literature and playwrights. This conversation will appeal to anybody who wants to write more...

Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 6 min

Jimmy Soni, on Interviewing Elon Musk, Writing Biographies, Lessons from Peter Thiel, and The Art of Research

A master of biographies and a professional speechwriter. If you want to write serious, research-backed non-fiction or build your writing career while working a full-time job, this episode is for you. Website: https://jimmysoni.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni Books: The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar Wan...

Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 44 min

The Cultural Tutor, on Writing Every Day, Growing a Twitter Audience, and Reading Old Books

The man started writing online ~15 months ago, and has ascended to 1.5 million Twitter followers. Until now, he's been anonymous. Never showed his face. This is a masterclass in how to write for the Internet, source reading material, and build a writing habit. The Cultural Tutor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/culturaltutor David Perell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/david_perell Want to learn more about the next cohort with Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw Want t...

Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 23 min

Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, on The Story of Marginal Revolution

For the past 20 years, they have run the world’s largest economics blog. This is the story of how they publish every day, generate ideas when they’re stuck, and plan to teach millions of people the basics of supply & demand. Tyler and Alex's newsletter: https://marginalrevolution.com/ Tyler's website: https://tylercowen.com/ Tyler's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tylercowen Alex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ATabarrok Alex's website: https://alextabarrok.com/ Want to learn more about the next...

Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min

How I Write: Podcast Trailer

How I Write brings you conversations with the world’s best writers. Each week, writer David Perell sits down with a writer to explore their creative process and riff on the craft. You’ve read their work. Now this is your chance to see how they create it. New episodes of the How I Write show go live every Wednesday on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.com/DavidPerellChannel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 20, 2023•1 min

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