Podcast: How I Write
Before book sales and PR buzz, your favorite writers began with two things: the blank page and an idea.Each week on How I Write, we go behind-the-scenes with today’s top writers to uncover the meta-mechanics of writing and the lifestyle behind it. You’ll be the first to hear writers deconstruct their creative process: from banging their head on the keyboard to marking the last period of their final draft. Victory.Come discover how great writing is made. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be next.New episodes of the How I Write show go live every week on Apple, S...
88 episodes processed, 31 books extracted
Podcast Playlist: View on YouTube
Books Mentioned Most Often
Fahrenheit 451
Buy Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Uh well, unless you read Fahrenheit 451, uh which is a dark dark piece.
Dean Koontz mentions Ray Bradbury's novel 'Fahrenheit 451' as an example of his darker work.
A Tale of Two Cities
Buy A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
And uh, I chose Tale of Two Cities.
Dean Koontz mentions reading Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' later in life.
Stolen Focus
Buy Stolen Focus by Johann Hari on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
um with my book loss connections you know I was about to turn 40 every year that I've been alive depression and anxiety had increased in the US and Britain the countries where I spend my time batch across the entire western world I've been quite depressed I was like what's going on why is everyone getting more and more anxious and depressed um with stolen focus my book about attention I wanted to understand why our attention was getting so much worse.
Johann Hari mentions his book 'Stolen Focus' and the personal question that led him to write it.
Lost Connections
Buy Lost Connections by Johann Hari on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
I remember someone who's a key part of my book lost connections an amazing woman called Nuria Changis
Johann Hari re-mentions his book 'Lost Connections' when talking about a person featured in it.
Consider the Lobster
Buy Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
So you have uh consider the lobster, David Foster Wallace, 2003, and then uh shooting an elephant by George Orwell.
Michael Dean mentions David Foster Wallace's essay/book collection "Consider the Lobster" when comparing it to George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" as examples of essays analyzed in his framework.
Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays
Buy Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays by George Orwell on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
So you have uh consider the lobster, David Foster Wallace, 2003, and then uh shooting an elephant by George Orwell. I think it's 1936.
Michael Dean mentions George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" when comparing it to David Foster Wallace's "Consider the Lobster" as examples of essays analyzed in his framework.
The Fountainhead
Buy The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Another fun fact is uh Howard Ror the character in Ran's novel Fountain Head is based off of Franklin Wright.
Michael Dean mentions Ayn Rand's novel "The Fountainhead" and its character Howard Roark, noting the character is based on Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Great Gatsby
Buy The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Hunter S. Thompson rewrote every single word of The Great Gatsby so I could feel what it was like to write a great novel.
Michael Dean mentions Hunter S. Thompson rewriting "The Great Gatsby" as an example of mastering the basics by mimicking great works.
A Pattern Language
Buy A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
So, that's a book by Christopher Alexander in uh 1978. And basically it's him trying to map the universal patterns across all of architecture. So he has 253 patterns.
Michael Dean mentions Christopher Alexander's book "A Pattern Language" as the inspiration for his essay architecture framework, describing its purpose and structure.
Pride and Prejudice
Buy Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Sense & Sensibility
Buy Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austin on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Sense and Sensibility
Buy Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Paradise Lost
Buy Paradise Lost by John Milton on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
There's a funny example where someone used AI to rewrite Paradise Lost, a classic, you know, epic poem, and then they had AI judge the two, and one was slop, and it preferred the slop.
Michael Dean mentions "Paradise Lost" being rewritten by AI as an example of AI's current lack of judgment regarding quality, noting AI preferred the "slop" version.
The Three-Body Problem
Buy The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
You know, in the threebody problem, especially in the dark forest in the second book, where the tricolerans uh look at humans and determine which humans, which wallfacers have what level of deterrence.
The speaker references the Three-Body Problem series to illustrate a point about deterrence and behavior.
The Faith of Our Fathers: Being a Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ
Mentioned 1 time
So there is the objective quality of a book. That's the first one. And this is what everybody thinks about. So we'll take a book like Gibbons, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Okay, people tell me amazing book. They'll say the writing is is is really strong. It's been super influential. Sure, you know, maybe you got some facts wrong, but David, you got to read this book. Or they'll talk about The Power Broker.
The speaker uses this book as an example of a book with high objective quality, mentioning its author (Gibbon), strong writing, and influence.
Robert A. Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson Set
Buy Robert A. Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson Set by Robert A. Caro on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Or they'll talk about The Power Broker. That's one of my favorites. The Power Broker by Robert Carrow. It is 1,344 pages. But David, I know it's long, but I'll tell you, Robert Caro is such a good writer. He does insane research, all that sort of stuff.
The speaker mentions this book as one of his favorites, highlighting its length and the author's skill and research.
East of Eden
Buy East of Eden by John Steinbeck on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
We send it out to like 30,000 people and uh we get some emails like, "Yo, John Steinbeck never never wrote this quote in East of Eden." And I was like, it literally hallucinated the dang quote.
The speaker recounts an incident where AI hallucinated a quote and incorrectly attributed it to this book by John Steinbeck.
Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine
Buy Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine by Stephen Pinker on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
Stephen pinker's got this great book sense of style that where he unpacks this and it it is my entire Bible of writing
Johnny Harris mentions Steven Pinker's book 'Sense of Style' and calls it his 'entire Bible of writing' for its focus on active language and classic style.
War and Peace (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essay)
Buy War and Peace (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essay) by Leo Tolstoy on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
I think the Lord of the Rings is the greatest novel in English written about the first world war and it's about a decent fellow who is dragged into a war which he doesn't want to fight but he conducts himself honorably going through great pain great loss uh and interestingly you know comes out of it morally strengthened in aware in a way that he wasn't so I mean you know it is the uh the English version of War and Peace you know Frodo you know is Pierre
The speaker refers to 'War and Peace' by Tolstoy as the 'English version' of 'The Lord of the Rings', comparing the scope and themes.
Anna Karenina
Buy Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
if I was asked you know the you know my top 10 great novels tolto and dovi would both be be honored I think Anna Corina is the greatest novel ever written I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
The speaker declares 'Anna Karenina' by Tolstoy the greatest novel ever written.
The Brothers Karamazov
Buy The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
I think Anna Corina is the greatest novel ever written I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
The speaker lists 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Dostoevsky as one of the three or four greatest novels ever written.
Crime and Punishment
Buy Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
The speaker calls 'Crime and Punishment' by Dostoevsky a tremendous novel.
The Grapes of Wrath
Buy The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
the his only competition there really is probably Jack London if you read The Grapes of Wrath for all of grapes of wrath's imperfections he has written one of the greatest American novels because he's done something that we forget which is he's shown us the Dignity of the poor the Dignity of the outcasts
The speaker mentions 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck as one of the greatest American novels, highlighting its portrayal of the dignity of the poor.
The Illustrated Golden Bough
Buy The Illustrated Golden Bough by James George Frazer on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
well what's the connection here with Odus and wisdom because when he goes past the muses he puts the wax in his ears and that's one of the things that they entice him with In order for anus to do this he has to have the golden bow which becomes the the title of this this great mythological thing that's you know looking at Universal mythology that Sir James Fraser writes
The speaker mentions 'the golden bow' as a mythological concept and links it to the work of Sir James Fraser, who wrote the book 'The Golden Bough'.
King James Bible OLD TESTAMENT-PCE
Buy King James Bible OLD TESTAMENT-PCE by KJB Translators 1604-1611 on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
and the King James Bible is very famous for that For the tremendous Simplicity of the language
The speaker mentions the King James Bible as an example of writing with tremendous simplicity and use of Saxon words.
Sonnets
Buy Sonnets by William Shakespeare on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
I more or less OBS the King James Bible more or less obsessively that in shakes
The speaker mentions Abraham Lincoln's obsessive reading of Shakespeare as an influence on his writing.
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Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric
Mentioned 1 time
and everyone who's serious about writing should have definitely rhetoric and style Just like lying over their house
David Perell recommends this book by the guest (Ward Farnsworth) as essential for anyone serious about writing.
The Book of Job
Buy The Book of Job by Harold S. Kushner on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
that is a lifting from The Book of Job uh I think there's also a usage of that phrase in in Jeremiah
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) identifies a phrase used by Abraham Lincoln as being lifted from The Book of Job.
Book of Jeremiah
Buy Book of Jeremiah by Susan Williams Smith on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
uh I think there's also a usage of that phrase in in Jeremiah but I think he he probably took it from job
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) mentions Jeremiah as another potential source for a phrase used by Abraham Lincoln, comparing it to The Book of Job.
Tom Jones
Buy Tom Jones by Henry Fielding on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
from this beautiful novel called Tom Jones by Henry Fielding I just bring this out
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) introduces a quote from this novel by Henry Fielding as an example of a chiasmus.
The 48 Laws of Power (Special Power Edition)
Buy The 48 Laws of Power (Special Power Edition) by Robert Greene on Amazon
Mentioned 1 time
and so I remember early on when the 48 Laws of Power maybe my I don't know how much later after that but I got contacted by this man who was a librarian head librarian at a library in Dade County Florida in a very Urban mostly black neighborhood and he said there were these kids that would come in they found the 48 law of power they're like 10 11 years old And now they're like looking at books about Julius Caesar and Louis the 14th And you know Haley salassi and all the other characters in the book that I written about they got excited by history
The speaker recounts a story about kids in a library who found 'The 48 Laws of Power' and became interested in history by reading about the characters mentioned in the book.
Latest Books Mentioned
Fahrenheit 451
Buy Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury on Amazon
Dean Koontz mentions Ray Bradbury's novel 'Fahrenheit 451' as an example of his darker work.
Uh well, unless you read Fahrenheit 451, uh which is a dark dark piece.
A Tale of Two Cities
Buy A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens on Amazon
Dean Koontz mentions reading Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' later in life.
And uh, I chose Tale of Two Cities.
Stolen Focus
Buy Stolen Focus by Johann Hari on Amazon
Johann Hari mentions his book 'Stolen Focus' and the personal question that led him to write it.
um with my book loss connections you know I was about to turn 40 every year that I've been alive depression and anxiety had increased in the US and Britain the countries where I spend my time batch across the entire western world I've been quite depressed I was like what's going on why is everyone getting more and more anxious and depressed um with stolen focus my book about attention I wanted to understand why our attention was getting so much worse.
Lost Connections
Buy Lost Connections by Johann Hari on Amazon
Johann Hari re-mentions his book 'Lost Connections' when talking about a person featured in it.
I remember someone who's a key part of my book lost connections an amazing woman called Nuria Changis
Consider the Lobster
Buy Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions David Foster Wallace's essay/book collection "Consider the Lobster" when comparing it to George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" as examples of essays analyzed in his framework.
So you have uh consider the lobster, David Foster Wallace, 2003, and then uh shooting an elephant by George Orwell.
Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays
Buy Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays by George Orwell on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" when comparing it to David Foster Wallace's "Consider the Lobster" as examples of essays analyzed in his framework.
So you have uh consider the lobster, David Foster Wallace, 2003, and then uh shooting an elephant by George Orwell. I think it's 1936.
The Fountainhead
Buy The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Ayn Rand's novel "The Fountainhead" and its character Howard Roark, noting the character is based on Frank Lloyd Wright.
Another fun fact is uh Howard Ror the character in Ran's novel Fountain Head is based off of Franklin Wright.
The Great Gatsby
Buy The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Hunter S. Thompson rewriting "The Great Gatsby" as an example of mastering the basics by mimicking great works.
Hunter S. Thompson rewrote every single word of The Great Gatsby so I could feel what it was like to write a great novel.
A Pattern Language
Buy A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Christopher Alexander's book "A Pattern Language" as the inspiration for his essay architecture framework, describing its purpose and structure.
So, that's a book by Christopher Alexander in uh 1978. And basically it's him trying to map the universal patterns across all of architecture. So he has 253 patterns.
Pride and Prejudice
Buy Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Sense & Sensibility
Buy Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austin on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Sense and Sensibility
Buy Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" as an example of a title with good phonetics.
Jane Austin, love phonetics, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility.
Paradise Lost
Buy Paradise Lost by John Milton on Amazon
Michael Dean mentions "Paradise Lost" being rewritten by AI as an example of AI's current lack of judgment regarding quality, noting AI preferred the "slop" version.
There's a funny example where someone used AI to rewrite Paradise Lost, a classic, you know, epic poem, and then they had AI judge the two, and one was slop, and it preferred the slop.
The Three-Body Problem
Buy The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu on Amazon
The speaker references the Three-Body Problem series to illustrate a point about deterrence and behavior.
You know, in the threebody problem, especially in the dark forest in the second book, where the tricolerans uh look at humans and determine which humans, which wallfacers have what level of deterrence.
The Faith of Our Fathers: Being a Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ
The speaker uses this book as an example of a book with high objective quality, mentioning its author (Gibbon), strong writing, and influence.
So there is the objective quality of a book. That's the first one. And this is what everybody thinks about. So we'll take a book like Gibbons, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Okay, people tell me amazing book. They'll say the writing is is is really strong. It's been super influential. Sure, you know, maybe you got some facts wrong, but David, you got to read this book. Or they'll talk about The Power Broker.
Robert A. Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson Set
Buy Robert A. Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson Set by Robert A. Caro on Amazon
The speaker mentions this book as one of his favorites, highlighting its length and the author's skill and research.
Or they'll talk about The Power Broker. That's one of my favorites. The Power Broker by Robert Carrow. It is 1,344 pages. But David, I know it's long, but I'll tell you, Robert Caro is such a good writer. He does insane research, all that sort of stuff.
East of Eden
Buy East of Eden by John Steinbeck on Amazon
The speaker recounts an incident where AI hallucinated a quote and incorrectly attributed it to this book by John Steinbeck.
We send it out to like 30,000 people and uh we get some emails like, "Yo, John Steinbeck never never wrote this quote in East of Eden." And I was like, it literally hallucinated the dang quote.
Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine
Buy Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine by Stephen Pinker on Amazon
Johnny Harris mentions Steven Pinker's book 'Sense of Style' and calls it his 'entire Bible of writing' for its focus on active language and classic style.
Stephen pinker's got this great book sense of style that where he unpacks this and it it is my entire Bible of writing
War and Peace (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essay)
Buy War and Peace (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essay) by Leo Tolstoy on Amazon
The speaker refers to 'War and Peace' by Tolstoy as the 'English version' of 'The Lord of the Rings', comparing the scope and themes.
I think the Lord of the Rings is the greatest novel in English written about the first world war and it's about a decent fellow who is dragged into a war which he doesn't want to fight but he conducts himself honorably going through great pain great loss uh and interestingly you know comes out of it morally strengthened in aware in a way that he wasn't so I mean you know it is the uh the English version of War and Peace you know Frodo you know is Pierre
Anna Karenina
Buy Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy on Amazon
The speaker declares 'Anna Karenina' by Tolstoy the greatest novel ever written.
if I was asked you know the you know my top 10 great novels tolto and dovi would both be be honored I think Anna Corina is the greatest novel ever written I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
The Brothers Karamazov
Buy The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky on Amazon
The speaker lists 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Dostoevsky as one of the three or four greatest novels ever written.
I think Anna Corina is the greatest novel ever written I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
Crime and Punishment
Buy Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky on Amazon
The speaker calls 'Crime and Punishment' by Dostoevsky a tremendous novel.
I think Brothers katsov is one of the three or four greatest novels ever written crime and punishment is a tremendous novel but then you get the novels like the idiot or the possessed which I think have great moments but they're kind of sprawling books which you know he doesn't reign in sufficiently
The Grapes of Wrath
Buy The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck on Amazon
The speaker mentions 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck as one of the greatest American novels, highlighting its portrayal of the dignity of the poor.
the his only competition there really is probably Jack London if you read The Grapes of Wrath for all of grapes of wrath's imperfections he has written one of the greatest American novels because he's done something that we forget which is he's shown us the Dignity of the poor the Dignity of the outcasts
The Illustrated Golden Bough
Buy The Illustrated Golden Bough by James George Frazer on Amazon
The speaker mentions 'the golden bow' as a mythological concept and links it to the work of Sir James Fraser, who wrote the book 'The Golden Bough'.
well what's the connection here with Odus and wisdom because when he goes past the muses he puts the wax in his ears and that's one of the things that they entice him with In order for anus to do this he has to have the golden bow which becomes the the title of this this great mythological thing that's you know looking at Universal mythology that Sir James Fraser writes
King James Bible OLD TESTAMENT-PCE
Buy King James Bible OLD TESTAMENT-PCE by KJB Translators 1604-1611 on Amazon
The speaker mentions the King James Bible as an example of writing with tremendous simplicity and use of Saxon words.
and the King James Bible is very famous for that For the tremendous Simplicity of the language
Sonnets
Buy Sonnets by William Shakespeare on Amazon
The speaker mentions Abraham Lincoln's obsessive reading of Shakespeare as an influence on his writing.
I more or less OBS the King James Bible more or less obsessively that in shakes
Deprecated: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/mentionedinpodcasts/mentionedinpodcasts.com/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4476
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric
David Perell recommends this book by the guest (Ward Farnsworth) as essential for anyone serious about writing.
and everyone who's serious about writing should have definitely rhetoric and style Just like lying over their house
The Book of Job
Buy The Book of Job by Harold S. Kushner on Amazon
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) identifies a phrase used by Abraham Lincoln as being lifted from The Book of Job.
that is a lifting from The Book of Job uh I think there's also a usage of that phrase in in Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
Buy Book of Jeremiah by Susan Williams Smith on Amazon
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) mentions Jeremiah as another potential source for a phrase used by Abraham Lincoln, comparing it to The Book of Job.
uh I think there's also a usage of that phrase in in Jeremiah but I think he he probably took it from job
Tom Jones
Buy Tom Jones by Henry Fielding on Amazon
The speaker (Ward Farnsworth) introduces a quote from this novel by Henry Fielding as an example of a chiasmus.
from this beautiful novel called Tom Jones by Henry Fielding I just bring this out
The 48 Laws of Power (Special Power Edition)
Buy The 48 Laws of Power (Special Power Edition) by Robert Greene on Amazon
The speaker recounts a story about kids in a library who found 'The 48 Laws of Power' and became interested in history by reading about the characters mentioned in the book.
and so I remember early on when the 48 Laws of Power maybe my I don't know how much later after that but I got contacted by this man who was a librarian head librarian at a library in Dade County Florida in a very Urban mostly black neighborhood and he said there were these kids that would come in they found the 48 law of power they're like 10 11 years old And now they're like looking at books about Julius Caesar and Louis the 14th And you know Haley salassi and all the other characters in the book that I written about they got excited by history