The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience

C. Morgan Babst, author of The Floating World, shares her journey to publishing and the impact of Hurricane Katrina. She talks about staying organized and productive and offers tips for writing longer fiction. The importance of routine, accessing the subconscious, and the influence of New Orleans on her work are also discussed.

Alternative mortician, YouTube personality, and New York Times bestselling nonfiction author of From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty, rang me up this week to chat about changing the West’s relationship to death, the challenges of running a non-profit funeral home, and how to write a bestselling book in your spare time. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Caitlin is the creator of “Ask a Mortician,” a web series that boasts over 300,000 subscribers, and the founder of The Order of the Good Death, a nonprofit that advocates for death acceptance and an alternative to Western funeral industry practices. Her first bestselling book and memoir, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory, chronicled her experiences as a young woman working in a crematorium. Her latest, From Here to Eternity, resumes her exploration of the field to explore “… how other cultures care for the dead,” and “… is an immersive global journey that introduces compelling, powerful rituals almost entirely unknown in America.” Her mission to reform the death industry has led to features on NPR, BBC, The New Yorker, Vice, The Atlantic, the New York Times, and many others. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In this file Caitlin Doughty and I discuss: Her strong voice for change and how that got her an agent How a full-time mortician finds time to write bestselling books The sense of doubt that all writers face How her greater mission overtook her fear of writing Why writers need to be less precious about their work The Muse of Death Why you need to Tweet an inspirational writing quote to Caitlin @TheGoodDeath – #TheWriterFiles – after you listen to this show Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death – Caitlin Doughty CaitlinDoughty.com Ask A Mortician on YouTube Caitlin Doughty on Instagram The Order of the Good Death Undertaking LA (is not your typical funeral home) There Are Better Ways to Mourn – Caitlin Doughty for Time Caitlin Doughty on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part Two of this file the self-confessed serial entrepreneur, founder of Copyblogger, and CEO of Rainmaker Digital, Brian Clark, stopped by to rap with me about his journey to success, the evolution of blogging and content marketing, and his culpability for the existence of this podcast. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! The inaugural guest of The Writer Files is a content marketing trailblazer who launched his one-man blog, Copyblogger.com, in 2006. With a modest investment, no audience, and no connections, he slowly and steadily built it into a vital 8-figure business, and one of “… the most popular [and influential] content marketing and writing blog[s]…” for online writers. He is considered a top marketing influencer on writing, a “Top 10 Online Marketing Expert,” and one of the “100 Most Influential Online Marketers.” Brian has been featured in over 20 books including Linchpin by Seth Godin, and Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. He is now the CEO of Rainmaker Digital, the digital commerce flagship behind Copyblogger, StudioPress, and Rainmaker Digital Services to name only a few. Brian is also the curator of the personal development newsletter Further, and Unemployable, a podcast and resource for freelancers, consultants, coaches, and like-minded entrepreneurs. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file Brian Clark and I discuss: His recent study of writing & technology including automation and personalization Why all writers are somewhat crazy Great tricks for jump starting your productivity and beating procrastination How Brian invented a deliberate writing style for Copyblogger How Brian defines creativity and why you need to expose yourself to great stories The most important thing online content writers should study Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Copyblogger.com – Build Your Online Authority with Powerfully Effective Content Marketing Brian Clark’s Author Page at Copyblogger Further – Achieve Your Goals and Live Your Best Life Unemployable – The Solution to Information Overload for Small Business Owners Here s How Brian Clark Writes Unemployable podcast – “Steal Like an Entrepreneur, with Austin Kleon” How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes: Part One This music production tool is the reason why all new music sounds the same – Shelby Hartman Brian Clark on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The self-confessed serial entrepreneur, founder of Copyblogger, and CEO of Rainmaker Digital, Brian Clark, stopped by this week to rap with me about his hero’s journey to success, the evolution of blogging and content marketing, and his culpability for the existence of this podcast. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! The inaugural guest of The Writer Files is a content marketing trail blazer who launched his one-man blog, Copyblogger.com, in 2006. With a modest investment, no audience, and no connections, he slowly and steadily built it into a vital 8-figure business, and one of “… the most popular [and influential] content marketing and writing blog[s]…” for online writers. He is considered a top marketing influencer on writing, a “Top 10 Online Marketing Expert,” and one of the “100 Most Influential Online Marketers.” Brian has been featured in over 20 books including Linchpin by Seth Godin, and Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. He is now the CEO of Rainmaker Digital, the digital commerce flagship behind Copyblogger, StudioPress, and Rainmaker Digital Services to name only a few. Brian is also the curator of the personal development newsletter Further, and Unemployable, a podcast and resource for freelancers, consultants, coaches, and like-minded entrepreneurs. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file Brian Clark and I discuss: How a reformed lawyer became an influential blogger The importance of compelling storytelling to successful online content The moment Brian realized he was an entrepreneur who could write and not a traditional writer How a near death experience led to an enlightening career change The birth of content marketing How Brian helped grow an online empire without any outside investments or advertising Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Copyblogger.com – Build Your Online Authority with Powerfully Effective Content Marketing Brian Clark’s Author Page at Copyblogger Further – Achieve Your Goals and Live Your Best Life Unemployable – The Solution to Information Overload for Small Business Owners Here s How Brian Clark Writes Here s How Seth Godin Writes How Bestselling Author Daniel Pink Writes Brian Clark on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part Two of this file the former Slate staffer, ultimate data/word nerd, and acclaimed author of Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, Ben Blatt, dropped in to talk about crunching the numbers of classic and modern literature, debunking famous writerly wisdom, and how prolific writers establish their literary fingerprints. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Ben is a journalist, statistician, and author who takes a “fun” approach to data journalism on pop culture topics as varied as Seinfeld, The Beatles, and baseball (his last book I Don’t Care if We Never Get Back, was about a mathematically optimal baseball road trip). The author studied applied mathematics at Harvard and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Deadspin, and others. His most recent book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing, “… brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world s greatest writers.” NPR called the book, A hell of a lot of fun …”, The Wall Street Journal, “Enlightening,” and The Boston Globe called it, “Brilliant.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file Ben Blatt and I discuss: How to trick yourself out of writer’s block A data journalist’s book writing hacks, including when to add tables and graphs Why brevity and simplicity will always stand the test of time How a great writer sticks out in their own unique way Great tips to creating a long and rewarding writing career Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing – Ben Blatt Ben Blatt’s website bblatt.com The One Way Bestsellers Have Changed That You Probably Haven t Noticed – Ben Blatt ‘Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve’ Crunches The (Literary) Numbers – NPR One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing – Smithsonian The Heretical Things Statistics Tell Us About Fiction – New Yorker Ben Blatt on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The former Slate staffer, ultimate data/word nerd, and acclaimed author of Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve, Ben Blatt, dropped in this week to talk about crunching the numbers of classic and modern literature, debunking famous writerly wisdom, and how prolific writers establish their literary fingerprints. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Ben is a journalist, statistician, and author who takes a “fun” approach to data journalism on pop culture topics as varied as Seinfeld, The Beatles, and baseball (his last book I Don’t Care if We Never Get Back, was about a mathematically optimal baseball road trip). The author studied applied mathematics at Harvard and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Deadspin, and others. His most recent book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing, “… brings big data to the literary canon, exploring the wealth of fun findings that remain hidden in the works of the world s greatest writers.” NPR called the book, A hell of a lot of fun …”, The Wall Street Journal, “Enlightening,” and The Boston Globe called it, “Brilliant.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file Ben Blatt and I discuss: How a math nerd became a pop culture data hound The challenges of turning thousands of books into big data to examine famous writing advice On Elmore Leonard’s reversal in exclamation point usage Why Nabokov used so many colors in his writing How a data journalist concocted experiments to debunk conventional wisdom about bestselling authors Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing – Ben Blatt How the Author of The Bestseller Code Jodie Archer Writes: Part One Ben Blatt’s website bblatt.com The One Way Bestsellers Have Changed That You Probably Haven t Noticed – Ben Blatt ‘Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve’ Crunches The (Literary) Numbers – NPR One Writer Used Statistics to Reveal the Secrets of What Makes Great Writing – Smithsonian The Heretical Things Statistics Tell Us About Fiction – New Yorker Ben Blatt on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning journalist, author, and serial guest, Adam Skolnick, is back on the show as our international correspondent to catch us up on the globetrotting life of a travel writer, his journey to self-publishing, and more writer porn. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Adam s first narrative nonfiction book is now available in paperback One Breath: Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits and is based on his award-winning New York Times sports coverage of the death of the greatest American freediver of all time. The book has been compared to other classics of extreme sports journalism like Jon Krakauer s Into Thin Air, and National Geographic Traveller called it, “A vicarious thrill that you can enjoy in a little over 300 pages and unless you read it in the bath … ” Adam has visited 45 countries and authored or coauthored over 30 Lonely Planet guidebooks, and has written for publications as varied as ESPN.com, Men s Health, Outside, BBC, Playboy Magazine, The New York Times, and appeared on NPR. His latest collection of 81 verses of poetry and prose– Indolirium — takes its inspiration from Jack Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues, and is “… an insomnia-addled journey through the cities, villages and way out wilds of Indonesia …” based on what the author thought “… would be a painless three month assignment in a country he knew well, only to find his marriage and life threatened and his mind unravel as he groped for light in the darkness.” In this file Adam Skolnick and I discuss: Investigating Elon Musk’s latest technology How a travel journalist reinvigorated his faith in the “American Dream” Making a living as an international content writer … in Mongolia How to carve out a “Man-vs-Water” beat at the New York Times The Olympic swimmers who organize in political protest Why an award-winning journalist chose to self-publish his personal insomniac poetry Modern poetics and the path to literary social media success The purpose of poetry in the age of the internet Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com Adam Skolnick’s Amazon Author Page Indolirium – Adam Skolnick AdamSkolnick.com High Speed American Dreams – Adam Skolnick Adam Skolnick on Instagram April Wong on Instagram One Breath – Adam Skolnick In a Swimmer s Two-Year Quest, a Final 21-Mile Challenge – Adam Skolnick for NYTimes Web Poets Society: New Breed Succeeds in Taking Verse Viral Donald Trump, the First President of Our Post-Literate Age A Neuroscientist s Perspective on Fake News, with Michael Grybko Adam Skolnick on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part Two of this file the multiple bestselling author of five books, including his latest — Real Artists Don t Starve — Jeff Goins, returned for a special edition of the show to talk with me about “The New Renaissance,” his favorite books on creativity, and busting the commonly held beliefs of artists. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In addition to being an entrepreneur and speaker, Jeff is a writing and creativity consultant, and his popular blog, Goins, Writer, offers free tips about the writing life. His podcast, The Portfolio Life, delves into many of the same topics via interviews with entrepreneurs and writers aimed squarely at helping listeners pursue work that matters. On Jeff’s last visit to the show in 2015, we talked about his bestselling book, The Art of Work, and how to think like a professional writer. His latest, Real Artists Don’t Starve, “… dismantles the myth that being creative is a hindrance to success …,” and bestselling author Daniel Pink said of the book, “Every entrepreneur, writer, and artist should read this book and take notes.” Writers, I think you’re going to like this one. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file Jeff Goins and I discuss: The secret life of Ernest Hemingway Debunking the idea of ‘natural talent’ Why creatives need to either join a scene or create one How the idea of the “starving artist” has been romanticized through the ages Why you need to make money to make more and better art Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com How Bestselling Author Jeff Goins Writes: Part One How Bestselling Author Daniel Pink Writes How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes: Part One Jeff Goins author page on Amazon Find bonus material for Real Artists Don’t Starve here How Russia Recruited Ernest Hemingway GoinsWriter.com The Portfolio Life Podcast with Jeff Goins Jeff Goins on Medium Jeff Goins on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The multiple bestselling author of five books, including his latest — Real Artists Don t Starve — Jeff Goins, returned for a special edition of the show to talk with me about “The New Renaissance,” his favorite books on creativity, and busting the commonly held beliefs of artists. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In addition to being an entrepreneur and speaker, Jeff is a writing and creativity consultant, and his popular blog, Goins, Writer, offers free tips about the writing life. His podcast, The Portfolio Life, delves into many of the same topics via interviews with entrepreneurs and writers aimed squarely at helping listeners pursue work that matters. On Jeff’s last visit to the show in 2015, we talked about his bestselling book, The Art of Work, and how to think like a professional writer. His latest, Real Artists Don’t Starve, “… dismantles the myth that being creative is a hindrance to success …,” and bestselling author Daniel Pink said of the book, “Every entrepreneur, writer, and artist should read this book and take notes.” Writers, I think you’re going to like this one. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file Jeff Goins and I discuss: How the starving artist mindset is a choice not a condition Why now is the best time in history to do creative work How John Grisham overcame the odds and 40 rejections to become a bestselling author Why you don’t need to “go big or go home” The psychology of rule-breakers and creativity Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to StudioPress.com Jeff Goins author page on Amazon Find bonus material for Real Artists Don’t Starve here How Bestselling Author Jeff Goins Writes: Part One How Bestselling Author Daniel Pink Writes How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes: Part One GoinsWriter.com The Portfolio Life Podcast with Jeff Goins Jeff Goins on Medium Jeff Goins on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part Two of this file the recent Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and acclaimed author of the award-winning short story collection Hot Little Hands, Abigail Ulman, visited the show this week to talk about having a beer with George Saunders, the life of a traveling freelancer, and the idiosyncrasies of great writers. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In addition to being a freelance copywriter and screenwriter, the native Australian author and self-confessed gypsy has followed in the footsteps of other famous itinerant writers. At Stanford’s two-year creative writing fellowship she got the chance to study with great writers like Tobias Wolff and Colm Toibin. Other notable fellows — to name a few — have included Raymond Carver, Ken Kesey, Scott Turow, Thomas McGuane, and Larry McMurtry. Abigail’s short stories invited the interest of publishers, and her first book, Hot Little Hands, went on to win a 2016 Best Young Australian Novelist Award and is a collection of “… heartbreakingly tender and often darkly funny fiction.” Lena Dunham called it a “… highly inventive collection of short fiction which hits virtually all my buttons,” and Publishers Weekly said of the book, “The captivating women in this collection leave a lasting impression.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file Abigail Ulman and I discuss: How she divides her writing day and the rarity of copywriting emergencies The autobiographical nature of writer’s block Why you need to be kind to yourself and the power of taking breaks The neurotic nature of writers Why the best way to beat anxiety is to eliminate self-doubt Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. How Award-Winning Short Story Writer Abigail Ulman Writes: Part One Hot Little Hands: Fiction – Abigail Ulman The Agony and the Ecstasy of Girlhood – The Atlantic review Abigail Ulman on writer’s block Sydney Writers Festival – Podcast Sydney Writers Festival Abigail Ulman on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices