The senior culture writer for Buzzfeed News and author of the debut novel Startup, Doree Shafrir, took a few minutes to talk with me about the early days at Gawker, her highly-anticipated fiction debut, and her tips for getting words onto the page.

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Start getting more from your site today!The veteran online journalist started out at the Philadelphia Weekly before taking a position at Gawker in 2006. She went on to work as an editor and staff writer for Rolling Stone, The New York Observer, and has contributed to publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Slate, The Awl, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, and WIRED.

Her whip-smart debut novel is Startup, a satirical skewering of startup culture in New York City “…that proves there are some dilemmas that no app can solve.”

Vanity Fair’s Nick Bilton, former tech and business columnist for the New York Times, said of the book, “I was hooked from the first page and found myself lost in a beautifully-written fiction that so succinctly echoes today’s bizarre reality.”

Doree also co-hosts a podcast with husband and Nerdist alum, TV writer Matt Mira, titled “Matt and Doree’s Eggcellent Adventure,” described as an “…unintentionally hilarious journey through the world of infertility.”

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In Part One of this file Doree Shafrir and I discuss:

The writer’s journey from Gawker content creator to buzzworthy debut novelist
How her user-generated Tumblr got her a book deal
Why she doesn’t own her personal domain name
How to research and create a believable antagonist
The challenges she faced making the shift from journo to fictionist

The Show Notes:

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How Senior BuzzFeed Writer and Author of ‘Startup’ Doree Shafrir Writes: Part Two
Doree-Shafrir.com
Meet Startup Author Doree Shafrir – Tour Dates
Startup: A Novel – Doree Shafrir
www.PostCardsfromYoMomma.com
Doree Shafrir is a culture writer for BuzzFeed
Sex, Lies and Tech: How New Novel Skewers Startup Culture – Rolling Stone
Episode 865: Nerdist Podcast – Doree Shafrir
24 Quotes That Will Inspire You To Write More – Doree Shafrir
Doree Shafrir on Twitter
Kelton Reid on Twitter

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