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.
Episodes
March 12, 2025 • 86 mins
In this episode, I sit down with YouTube storytelling master Johnny Harris to discover how he creates his videos. Johnny Harris has proven he can make pretty much anything go viral, from breakfast and lottery tickets to bread-making and extra virgin olive oil. We look at his entire creative process, breaking down exactly what makes his storytelling so addicting to watch. We cover the complete workflow: writing, drafting, editing, v...
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March 5, 2025 • 69 mins
Tyler Cowen, an economist and writer, talks with me about how AI is changing writing and research. He explains a practical approach to using AI tools while maintaining your own voice. He explains the ways he incorporates LLMs into his daily work. We talk about how people will be writing fewer books in the future and how he believes truly human writing will stand out among AI-generated content. Enjoy!
Redeem your free week of Lex a...
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February 26, 2025 • 190 mins
Dana Gioia is a poet, former Chairman of the NEA, and one of America's most insightful writers on the craft of poetry and prose. This is the deepest conversation I've ever had about writing. Dana breaks down the writing process from his first drafts to revision, and shares practical wisdom about finding your voice and creating work that lasts. His straightforward approach makes writing less intimidating and more accessible to anyon...
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February 12, 2025 • 61 mins
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!
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
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February 5, 2025 • 69 mins
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 Ho...
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January 10, 2025 • 89 mins
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 t...
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October 16, 2024 • 95 mins
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...
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October 9, 2024 • 84 mins
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.
...
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September 25, 2024 • 48 mins
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? W...
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September 18, 2024 • 82 mins
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 cri...
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September 11, 2024 • 79 mins
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. Dialo...
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August 28, 2024 • 75 mins
“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....
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August 21, 2024 • 93 mins
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 answe...
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August 14, 2024 • 94 mins
Ever thought to yourself, “I would love to write a memoir someday”?
Then you’re in the right place. Rob has an exceptional story — from foster care to Yale, from a troubled childhood to a best-selling memoir called Troubled — and in this episode, he demystifies the memoir-writing process just for you.
We cover questions like: Which stories are worthy of sharing? How do you pace the narrative? How do you excavate difficult memo...
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July 31, 2024 • 76 mins
Your success as a writer boils down to your style. And today, you’re going to learn how to master the two different types of style — minimalism vs. maximalism — from the style-king himself: The Cultural Tutor.
Minimalism is clear, concise, and direct. It distills an idea. Maximalism captures the texture, the nuance, the beauty of life. It creates an environment for your reader to inhabit. Style is a spectrum. And the sweet spot of...
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July 24, 2024 • 56 mins
What do Katy Perry, Charles Dickens, and the Bible all have in common? They’re responsible for some of the most famous lines in history. And in this episode, you’ll find out why.
Mark, an author and mad scientist of language, reveals the secret sauce to memorable writing: rhetorical devices. Chiasmus. Anaphora. Antithesis. Synecdoche.
Writing today (i.e. texting and Tweeting) is concise and hyper-minimal — which is fine, if you...
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July 17, 2024 • 76 mins
Harry is a master copywriter — and that’s not hyperbole. With Marketing Examples, he’s taught over 100,000 people how to write copy that rips. And guess what? You’re next.
Copywriting is the wrapper of success for every company. It’s the difference between Snickers, the bestselling chocolate bar in the world (“You’re not you when you’re hungry”) and a chocolate bar that looked and tasted just like Snickers, but went out of busines...
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July 10, 2024 • 84 mins
Scott is a cocktail of crass humor, brutal honesty, and millionaire advice. He spent ten years wanting to write a book, and when he finally did, everything he learned could be summed up into two words: Be fearless.
So buckle up — because today, you’re going to learn how to write fearlessly.
In this episode, we break down the nitty-gritty mechanics of fearless writing: how to create intimacy with your reader, how to craft a narrat...
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July 3, 2024 • 99 mins
Two words: Storytelling. Masterclass.
Yeah, yeah, we know — “become a better storyteller” is probably the most basic writing advice out there. But this episode is far from basic. It’s all about the storytelling advice you actually need that you didn’t get in school.
Once upon a time, Nat wrote online SEO blogs: simple, generic, and kind of boring. What he really wanted was to write a memoir: something narrative, beautiful, and ex...
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June 26, 2024 • 74 mins
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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)....
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