4min chapter

Creator Science cover image

#149: Daniel Pink – How to write like a New York Times bestselling author

Creator Science

CHAPTER

How to Capture 16,000 Regrets Before Writing a Book

Jay Parini: I feel like any piece of content can be made more interesting, more valuable if you have more proprietary research backing it up. We're so incentivized just to throw polarizing opinions out there because they get a reaction and it's easy to put together when you don't have to back it up with research. He says most people aren't willing to do that work as it is difficult and unglamorous. Parini: How do you know when you've done enough? That's a good question. For me, it's very instinctual, but I think it becomes when, when I start hearing the same thing over and over again.

00:00
Speaker 1
So it's, you know, you can pay me now or pay me later. And I want to know that stuff early rather than late because if you discover it late, it's miserable. Something about your work that I think a lot of people can learn from and benefit from is you take a research backed approach to all of your writing. And I feel like any piece of content can be made more interesting, more valuable if you have more proprietary research backing it up. And it's not just opinion. We're so incentivized just to throw polarizing opinions out there because they get a reaction and it's easy to put together when you don't have to back it up and research. So I'd love to hear your process of research because it sounds like an intimidating thing to capture 16,000 regrets before writing the book or running this research process. But you've said today you can do that with one or two people from your garage. So can you talk about how you go about research? Yeah, you can do that. The thing is, here's the thing. It's like it's a lot of work. That's all that it is. It's not a matter of brain power. It's a matter of putting in the time of, of, of, of, you know, going back and laying those bricks. You don't have to be a genius to do that stuff, but you know what you do have to do. And a lot of people aren't willing to do that. So they're, oh, I'm going to do some research. And it's like, you know, it's like, do you, do you want to read, you know, this, oh, I read a paper. Okay, that's nice. Are you willing to read 25 papers as a start and 200 papers? And most people aren't. You know, are you just, are you, are you willing to do that work? And most people aren't because it is difficult and it's unglamorous. And a lot of it is kind of boring and it takes a very, very, very, very, very, very, very long time. And what does that look like? Because it literally looked like, do you, have you had to go to just like libraries and read books on the subject and papers or has the internet given you enough fire power to do most of the research from your computer now? I don't have to go to libraries that often. I mean, you know, in the old day, the pre pandemic days, I would, I would have to, you know, I would go out and, you know, report things and interview people in person. But I mean, here's what it looks like, Jay, what does it look like? It looks like this. Okay. This is like one. But that's like, let's, this is like one 50th. All right. It, you know, you have to be willing to, you have to be willing to turn, you know, to turn every page and that's, and that's hard and it's unglamorous and it's sometimes boring and most people don't want to do it. How do you know when you've done enough? That's a good question. I don't think you always do. For me, it's very instinctual, but I think it becomes when, when I start hearing the same thing over and over again, that is you can almost chart it out. It's like your, let's say you're, you're saying, okay, so I need to, I'm going to give you an example. What does the science say about the importance of feelings of belonging on academic performance? I'm totally making that up. Um, and so you start out with a hunch, okay, about what it'll say. And then if you were to chart it, you say, oh, I'm learning more, I'm learning more, I'm learning more, I'm learning more. And then at a certain point you say, wait a second, I'm hearing the same thing over and over again. And you look at your notes and it's like, okay, I already wrote that down. Um, oh, here's somebody else saying the same exact same thing. So you get this instinct when you're, when you're plateauing and it goes back to what we're talking about earlier, which is basically at a certain point, you have to say, okay, this is, I, I got this down more or less now. I'm not getting a PhD in the, I'm not writing a PhD thesis in belonging in academic performance. What I want to do is I want to master the basics of this, get it right, lock it down and, uh, and move on.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode