Elif Shafak: How to Write a Novel | How I Write
How I Write
James Baldwin and exile as insight
Elif honors Baldwin's thinking on home, belonging and exile and calls him patron saint of exiles.
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Elif Shafak has a way of writing that's lush and enchanted. She writes about real things in the world: water, houseboats, ordinary things that we stopped seeing. And she infuses them with life and wonder so that we can see the world fresh again.
Elif has written more than 21 books, and she's the president of the Royal Society of Literature, which has had fellows like J. R. R. Tolkien, Rudyard Kipling, W.B. Yeats, and Margaret Atwood.
You'll notice that her writing advice is different from what you normally hear. She wants to help you splash your personality onto the page, how to write with soul, and how to unlock your wild imagination to do it day in and day out until you're left with a finished piece of writing.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:02 Making small things feel enchanted
00:04:39 How to avoid fake wonder
00:07:22 Elif’s writing routine
00:09:13 Writing at night
00:11:11 How heavy metal helps writing
00:18:07 What makes characters feel real
00:19:55 Fixing a story
00:22:15 Writing like children
00:26:09 Which senses matter most
00:32:32 Taking risks after being successful
00:34:12 Soft vs hard writing
00:38:59 Elif’s editing process
00:43:27 How poetry influences her writing
00:48:30 What English can’t express
00:51:46 Writing as if you’re “drunk”
00:55:04 Why freedom comes first
00:57:04 Lessons from favorite writers
01:06:44 Rumi’s influence
01:10:22 Spirituality vs religion
01:15:07 How cities shape writers
01:17:11 James Baldwin’s influence
01:18:22 Melancholy and humor
About the host
Hey! 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.
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