Episode · How I Write · 2024-07-03
Books mentioned on Want to Tell Better Stories? This Guy Will Teach You How (Nat Eliason | How I Write Podcast)
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Red Rising
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is an explosive, fast-paced dystopian science fiction novel set on a color-coded, caste-divided Mars that follows a oppressed miner seeking vengeance and systemic revolution.
Recommended“And one that was actually really helpful was Red Rising. And it's it's super fast-paced, super engaging, very hard to put down.”
Where to get it
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Confessions of an Evil Spirit - The Spirit of Fear's Side of the Story
Hunter S.
Recommended“It needs to have that um Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas feel to it. That was the main inspiration is I sent them that and I said this is like what we want to use as inspiration for the cover.”
Where to get it
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S.
Recommended“It needs to have that um Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas feel to it. That was the main inspiration is I sent them that and I said this is like what we want to use as inspiration for the cover.”
Where to get it
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Kitchen Confidential
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is a raw, darkly comedic, and wildly influential memoir that pulls back the curtain on the gritty, high-pressure underworld of professional restaurant kitchens.
Recommended“Uh and I mean, obviously kind of inspired by Anthony Bourdain, right? I I read Kitchen Confidential early on when I was trying to find a good style for the book and he really influenced the writing style in a couple ways.”
Where to get it
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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a philosophical novel that presents the author's objectivist philosophy through a dystopian narrative about society's most productive individuals going on strike against collectivism.
Discussed“It feels there's so many times when reading Atlas Shrugged where it's really clear that that it's no longer this character talking. It's just her insert.”
Where to get it
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Conflict
Conflict is a focused instructional guide that forms part of a renowned series on the elements of fiction writing, offering practical strategies for building narrative tension and stakes.
Recommended“The there's this really good book called Conflict and Suspense and it's part of the elements of fiction writing series which is a wonderful series. highly highly recommend it even for non-fiction writers”
Where to get it
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Suspense
Suspense is a gripping historical novel by Joseph Conrad that explores the political intrigue, revolutionary fervor, and psychological tension surrounding the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte on Elba prior to the Hundred Days.
Recommended“The there's this really good book called Conflict and Suspense and it's part of the elements of fiction writing series which is a wonderful series. highly highly recommend it even for non-fiction writers”
Where to get it
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East of Eden
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sweeping, multi-generational epic novel set in the Salinas Valley that deeply explores profound themes of good and evil, free will, guilt, and human redemption through the parallel histories of the Trask and Hamilton families.
Recommended“And East of Eden is a great example of this because if I can prime myself with those kinds of books, then when I go back and edit this, I can draw it out a little bit more.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Like Stephen King wrote Carrie when he was 26, you know, and that was his first book deal, and he got 200 grand for it, which is something like 600 grand in today's dollars, right?”
“And you know, Red Rising is a good example of this, too. Pice Brown wrote it, I think, when he was 27 or 28.”