(Photo: EJP Photo)
Total read time: 20 minutes
Bolded read time (as a teaser): 4 minutes
—
I first met Josh Waitzkin at a coffee shop in Manhattan.
About 15 minutes into sipping coffee and getting acquainted, I was thrilled to realize that he dropped f-bombs as much as I did. He was no Rain Man, and I felt silly for half expecting him to be. If you’ve read the bestselling book Searching for Bobby Fischer (or seen the movie), then you know of Josh.
Wandering through Washington Square Park with his mom at age six, he became fascinated with the “blitz chess” that the street hustlers played at warp speed. He watched and absorbed. Then he begged his mom to let him give it a shot. Just once! Soon thereafter, dressed in OshKosh overalls, he was king of the hustlers.
Josh proceeded to dominate the world chess scene and become the only person to win the National Primary, Elementary, Junior High School, Senior High School, U.S. Cadet, and U.S. Junior Closed chess championships before the age of 16. He could easily play “simuls,” in which 20–50 chessboards were set up with opponents in a large banquet hall, requiring him to walk from table to table playing all of the games simultaneously in his head.
He was labeled a “prodigy.”
I disagree with this labeling because Josh has a process for mastery, and he’s applied it to many fields, not just chess. As it turns out, he’s not the only one in his family with this skill. His father, Fred Waitzkin, has processes and tricks he uses for writing both non-fiction (he wrote Searching for Bobby Fischer) and fiction…
As of late, I’ve become interested in the craft of fiction writing.
This interest was partially sparked by an early copy of Fred’s latest novel, The Dream Merchant, which is an incredible piece of art with praise from writers like Sebastian Junger.
This post is a conversation with Fred about his creative process: tactical, psychological, and otherwise. The lessons learned apply to much more than writing. If you like this interview, please let me know in the comments.
NOTE: For those who’d like to skim this to start, I’ve bolded a few of my favorite lines and takeaways throughout.
Enter the Conversation: Tim Ferriss (TF) and Fred Waitzkin (FW)
TF: You are best known for the book and film Searching for Bobby Fischer, but can you give us some of your background from before that media deluge?
FW: In my twenties, I spent years learning my chops writing short fiction. I felt a lot of frustration. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write and I struggled to publish my work. When I look back on it now, I was too hemmed in by feelings and dark moods—I didn’t give enough sway to the story part of my stories. I didn’t understand the importance of plot. In the early 80’s I began writing feature length non-fiction for The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine and a few others. All of a sudden my editors expected that I would be writing about something that really happened. This mandate was hard for me but also it was liberating—writing wasn’t all about what was inside my guts. Still, I thought of what I was doing as “creative non-fiction” which is to say I wanted my stories to have an arc, to build to some kind of revelation or impact ending.
I often wrote in the first person, which was unusual back then. You see, I didn’t believe in the New York Times credo, that a writer’s point of view about the subject shouldn’t be a part of the story. I believed that a writer always has a point of view and that masking it is a kind of fraud. So I didn’t write behind the mask. I put myself right into the story–Fred’s take–and somehow my editors put up with it. In my view, Norman Mailer was the greatest of all the contemporary non-fiction writers. He put himself right in–he let his imagination run wild in his non-fiction. Oddly, his imagination was a better friend to him as a non-fiction writer than as a novelist.
TF: Speaking of influences, or at least favorites, what are your top-5 favorite short stories?
FW: I’ll give you six, in no particular order, although I have never admired a story more than Kilimanjaro:
The Snows of Kilimanjaro–Ernest Hemingway
The Dead–James Joyce
To Build a Fire–Jack London
A Hunger Artist–Franz Kafka
The Swimmer–John Cheever
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead–Milan Kundera [TF: couldn’t locate link]
TF: When you were just starting out as a writer, did you seek formal training?
FW: No. I taught myself. I was a brash young guy, and I couldn’t accept criticism.
TF: Can you elaborate?
FW: I was turned on by Jack Kerouac’s vision of life and writing. I was rebellious. The idea of just digging life and putting it down like jazz improvisation seemed like the essence of great writing to me. Some professor telling me how to write sounded like cheating. Also, I suppose I was insecure, which is why I couldn’t accept criticism then.
TF: Did this solo approach hurt you?
FW: Well for one thing, I never met many writers or editors. I didn’t make connections. To work for magazines you have to know the editors. If you know them, and they become familiar with your work, you get assignments. If you send in stories or story ideas over the transom, it is far more likely that you will be ignored. A good writer can be ignored for years. It’s a shame.
TF: Looking at your writing career — was there a stand-out turning point? Or inflection point?
In 1984 I wrote a long piece for New York Magazine called “The Grungy World of Big Time Chess” that told the story of brilliant guys in New York who played the game with passion and devotion but couldn’t begin to make a living from it. This story appealed to me I suppose because my mom was an abstract painter, a great one, but she never made much money from her work. I loved the fifties idea of “art for art’s sake” and chess players embodied that. Anyhow, this legendary editor at Random House, Joe Fox, who loved chess, read the piece, and invited me to his office. He asked me why I was so passionate about the game when I wasn’t even a player. I told him that I had a six-year-old son who was remarkably good at chess, who beat up adults every afternoon playing in Washington Square Park. “That’s your book. That’s what you have to write about,” said Fox. I gulped. He wanted me to write a book about my six-year-old kid who had only been playing chess for a few months. But Fox was the foremost literary editor in the country. He was Truman Capote’s editor and Roth’s and Mathieson’s —how could I say no to such a luminary?
So I began writing Searching for Bobby Fischer in terror. It was such a risky proposition. What if Josh got bored with the game and quit before he was seven or before I finished writing? What if it turned out that he was just a flash in the pan talent? What would happen to my book? Also, I didn’t know how to write a book. What if the great Fox thought my work was terrible? How could I possibly measure up to Truman Capote and Philip Roth? Yes, I was terrified. Also, there were personal things in my life that had me depressed. I worried that my book would be about gloom because I was feeling that way—that gloom would filter through and darken the writing.
I began taking notes about my feelings about Josh’s chess life. We went to the park and Josh played heroic games against seasoned players—or they seemed that way to me. I wrote it all down on yellow pads. Each decision about his chess life seemed huge. Should he take formal lessons? Should he play in tournaments? Should he play speed chess? I wrote in my journal that his park games were more important to me than anything else in my own life. That was hard for me to look at, but it was true. Was I living my life through my six- year- old kid? Yes, for sure. And it was doubly true because of the book. The book gave an additional layer of urgency to everything that Josh and I did. In a minute, my career had become linked to his terribly youthful hobby–although to me it surely didn’t feel like a hobby. Was it fair to put so much pressure on a kid? Very big question. For sure it was interesting material to reflect on and write about.
TF: Isn’t it difficult to write so candidly about yourself? Did you find it embarrassing to take your clothes off in public, so to speak?
FW: No, I got over that fairly quickly. It became my work to write truly about how I felt about myself and my kid as we moved through the chess world, just in the same way that a lawyer or a financial analyst does his research. I wrote it all down on yellow pads. I developed a working attitude about my confessional approach. I soon stopped thinking about whether or not I would embarrass myself. The book became a work of “introspective journalism.” I used that phrase when people asked me about it. I wrote about myself as if I were composing paragraphs about a fictional character. I adopted this strategy: If I wrote about “him” it wouldn’t hurt me. Of course once the book was about to hit the stores, I had my nerve-wracking moments.
There is a lot of alchemy in writing. You make a soup, put a lot of stuff in. But if it is a really good soup, what comes out is sometimes surprisingly different than what you put in. This is the coolest thing in writing. I have an idea to write a story about a guy I know. I write three or four notes on a legal pad. I’m raring to go. I begin churning out the words. I look at it again after a few days and I ask myself, “Where did that come from? Very interesting, but where did it come from?” If there is greatness in a book, it is usually the magic part–the revelations there were truly revelations to the author himself.
Energy needs to go into the soup. I’ll talk more about energy later, I’m sure, but just one thing here. Moods are energy. Think of a river flowing. If you are sad about some loss or terrible rejection, the river flows slowly in that direction. If you are ecstatic, the river rushes ahead with glee. But the main thing is movement. I mentioned before that I wrote Searching for Bobby Fischer when I was feeling depressed. Early on I discovered that I could divert that river and write passages that were hilarious. I marveled at it. My depression somehow gave me the impulsion to write humor. That was a great revelation to me and I’ve used it over the years. Movement begets movement. It is much better for a writer to feel badly than to not feel at all. If he feels badly he can turn it like a fire hose.
TF: How did you personally respond to the success of Searching?
The success of Searching was confusing and for a time it was even emotionally devastating. Perhaps when I think of that period in my life, I am conflating the book with the movie–all of this happened a long time ago. And people were constantly speaking of them as one and the same. But they weren’t. The book was very close to the experience of our lives, or as close as I could manage. The movie was a 125-minute version filtered through the sensibilities of many creative people, the script writer-director, the producer, a cast of greatly talented actors. The movie was a separate thing. Everyone in my family was upset by the movie when we first saw it. It wasn’t exactly what happened. It wasn’t our lives, not really, although the characters used our names.
Friends and strangers were always complimenting me about the movie as if it were my doing. Some people loved my book as well, but many more admired the Hollywood movie seen by millions. It was deeply confusing. Should I shake hands and say thank you, should I carefully explain that my book was quite different and really they should read it? But that seemed like a big bridge to cross with stranger after stranger who wanted to tell me how great the movie was. I shook hands and felt a bit like an imposter.
Also, for a writer who spends years by himself trying to actualize an inner vision, who covets silence and aloneness, hearing hundreds of compliments takes a toll. In my case there reached a point where I became insatiable. I wanted more and more great reviews. I wanted more people to tell me how terrific it was. This experience was like eating too much of the richest chocolate cake. I wanted more and at the same time my senses had become deadened from too much. I had to get away from the book and movie before I would be fit again to write anything decent. I recall having to wean myself from praise. I had to learn to sit by myself in a room again. That’s what I did.
TF: You’ve written nonfiction for a lifetime. Now you have spent the past ten years immersed in a novel. Can you describe some of the core similarities and differences in these processes? How would you compare the core challenge of writing fiction and nonfiction?
Actually, it feels like I have been writing fiction my entire life. But maybe that’s because I worked on The Dream Merchant for more than ten years– that’s a lifetime for one book. Also, my non-fiction life prepared me for fiction–I learned the importance of story. It was the perfect training ground.
I always wanted to write a novel. It’s just that I took a long time to get to it. And then The Dream Merchant took much much longer to finish than I’d ever imagined. I kept discovering new levels to the story, and every change meant fifty more changes. The novel is a deeper and more mysterious construction, I suppose, than a memoir but I’m not certain about this. For me, the best of non-fiction isn’t so different from fiction. As a journalist, the stories that appealed to me most were like short fictions—a small twist here and there and they might have been short stories. Many people have told me that my memoir, The Last Marlin, reads like a novel. While I was writing it I flirted with the idea of changing a few things and calling it a novel. Read This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff. Wolff might have called his great memoir of growing up a novel and no one who didn’t know his history would have blinked. Probably he was tempted.
But to dig into your question, a novel is constantly challenging the imagination. In a memoir, if you are playing more or less by the rules, you know what happened in fact, and the challenges have to do with how you are going to get there, the language you use, the moods you evoke, what you leave in and what you take out. With a novel there is more room to surprise yourself. Characters lead you to unexpected places, introduce you to new characters you hadn’t banked on meeting. Who are these strangers and what are they like? What are their passions? Who are their friends and lovers? All of this sounds obvious. But less obvious perhaps is how the novelist accesses the fictive side of himself.
Working on The Dream Merchant with numerous characters and dramatic scenes to bring to life I had to learn how to access my unconscious. This is an important part of my creative process. Let’s start simply. We all dream but some of us cannot recall our dreams in the morning. You can train yourself to remember your dreams. Put a pad on the shelf beside your bed and begin writing the second you open your eyes. Even before you open your eyes reach for the pad. Don’t turn on the light. Start scribbling in the dark. You will remember your dreams if you do this. The way I think of it, and I’m not a psychologist, you’ve created a bridge between your conscious and unconscious.
As a novelist I want to travel on this bridge, regularly–in fact, every day I want to cross over. Here is a deep trick that I learned from an interview with Ernest Hemingway: At the end of each writing day I leave unwritten a small portion of what I still had in my mind to compose that day.
[Tim note: Hemingway would routinely leave a sentence half finished, as discussed in A Moveable Feast.]
Then riding home on my bike from my office, at some level my mind is working on the unwritten paragraphs that I might have written but didn’t. I’m working on these paragraphs while I’m chatting with my wife or watching the ball game—but I am making connections that I never imagined. Sometimes my thinking is just a vague sense of impressions but other times an idea comes rushing to the surface. I always carry a small pad in my pocket to write it down. I’ve learned that if I don’t write it down, the insight is likely to disappear like many unwritten dreams. Then when I begin writing again the following day, I’ve discovered that the unwritten scene already contains hints and urges about where the narrative might next go–very often there are elements here that I hadn’t consciously thought about before.
When I was writing The Dream Merchant this dalliance with the unconscious felt very natural and I was able to give this hidden part of myself assignments. I would say to myself what does Jim worry about at night in bed? Or how does he tell his wife that he is going to leave her for another woman? Then I would be riding on my bike or watching the game, and the answer would rise to me–this would happen surprisingly often. Although each time it was a little thrilling, this bolt from the blue connection with a shadowy hard working world that we don’t know so much about.
One last point about my unusual dialogue with myself: It takes practice like running or swimming fast miles. When I haven’t written for a month or two I cannot access this part of being and I have to begin training in my fashion. But it gives me confidence to know that I have been there before and will probably be able to get back again.
TF: What do you do when your creative process is blocked? You talk a lot about muses. Tell us about that.
Inspiration is frequently misunderstood. When I was a young writer I looked for it in all the wrong places. In my twenties, I lived with my wife in a studio apartment just off Washington Square. Somehow I decided that the best writing time for me was late at night–I guessed that was when the muses would be running wild and delivering intoxicating poetic secrets. Perhaps I got this impression from Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round about Midnight” which I played over and over–it was so hauntingly beautiful and sad. In those days, after a late heavy dinner with a couple of beers topped off by more than a few drags of weed, I took my yellow legal pad into the chilly unsightly stairwell across from my front door and got ready to write the great American novel. Ugh, wrong move, Waitz. I recall sitting in the stairwell waiting for inspiration to strike until I was dozing off or feeling too cold. Some evenings when my wife was off taking classes at N.Y.U., for inspiration I maxed out the hifi with Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane blasting pure madness solos while I tried to compose my delicate pages. Wrong. Wrong. All wrong, Waitzkin.
Now, many years later, when I’m working on a book I write everyday except Sunday, when I watch football or go to the country with my wife. This routine has settled deeply inside. It gives me confidence. I’ve learned that pages will come if I go to my quiet office and stick with my routine. Back in the younger days, the unsightly stairwell seemed cool, but not now. I could never do my best work after a heavy meal or with the music blasting. It would be a distraction–an energy robber.
TF: But what about “inspiration”? Does it exist for you?
For me, inspiration is primarily energy. If I feel energy for a paragraph or a description I can almost always get to the essence of it. If I feel dead to myself, I don’t have a chance. I am always looking for energy. Where can I find it? What or who can give it to me? How can I amp up what I have?
A story can help us here. An older friend of mine was once depressed about his advancing years. He lacked zest or motivation for his regular gym workouts. He couldn’t concentrate on his career. One evening this man found himself in an elevator with a woman, a housekeeper who had worked for him in the past. But she was wearing outside clothes, a tight fitting sweater. She was young and beautiful. They talked a little. There was chemistry. She got off the elevator at his floor. They chatted in the hall. She said that she found him attractive. But he could feel this even before she said the words. She embraced him. And that was it. Nothing more happened between them. He was married and not looking for an affair. But he felt a big surge of life. He felt renewed, deeply so. There was a bounce to his step. He returned to the gym feeling ten years younger… There are many ways to experience the girl in the elevator…
###
This interview is continued in Part II. If interested, you can also read an excerpt of The Dream Merchant here.
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Awesome post: equal parts inspiration and applicable tips. It’s encouraging (or at least cathartic) to know that even the most successful writers deal with writer’s block.
Nice stuff. I really appreciate the way he speaks about writing, and that stream of words and emotions that come through. It always feels very genuine. Thanks for another great post, Tim!
As usual Tim you inspire with the speed with which you approach your next mountain. Love the way you line up your creative hurdles in hot pursuit of mastery for yourself and others. I would like to show you what I have created in a short time with the help of the inspiration I gained from the 4 hour work week. You stating what you had made possible was all I needed to manifest the visions I had been sitting on. I have built two successful companies, leverage my writing skills for profit, shoot international 5 star resort photography and am in the process of launching a fine art career. I estimate that if I can run each of my projects on a 4 hour work week it should all work out. I would love to meet you one day. If you are ever in Sydney, Australia let me photograph you with an artistic bent. Thanks for everything. Your journey really quickens mine and I so appreciate that.
Thanks so much for the kind comment, Lisa! Congratulations on all! See you in Sydney — might be there in November 🙂
All the best,
Tim
Nice to hear from you Tim! Make sure you do look me up. I have a very creative studio shoot in mind for you. I will have links to my current photo art up by next week and will send you a link to see the kind of art I am producing. I want to give back to you in a way that is useful to you. Stay connected Tim. I appreciate your continued pioneering.
Lisa
Tim (if you don’t mind me asking) what are you doing in Sydney in November? I’m actually moving to Australia in October and will be staying in Sydney for a few months with my brother and new niece. If you were doing a meet up there or anything I’d love to thank you in person for the 4 hour books (and 4 Hour body in particular. I lost two stone in two months with next to no exercise) and general positive effect of your blog on my life.
Although you just read this and know that now buy hey doing it in person would be extra cool
Great article Tim! It’s comforting to know that even a writer who admires Jack Kerouac’s life and style of writing ultimately settled into a writing routine that brings consistency over time, if not “flash in the pan” brilliance once every blue moon. It’s something I’ve struggled with in the past, how to get just the right set-up to write well, consistently.
Fred Waitzkin here: I think a lot of young writers who loved Kerouac were thrown off by his ideas about “spontaneous prose.” Intuitively I feel that Kerouac did a lot more editing than he fessed up to. But more to the point, none of us are Kerouac. I think consistency is hugely important for a writer or any high class performer. When I sit in my chair in my office around the same time in the morning with my cup of green tea, my being seems to know it’s time to go to work–it is the time to summon unexpected and sometimes interesting material. For me routine is huge.
The routine is most definitely important. I find my best time to write (particularly when I’m fed up with writing and dry creatively) is first thing in the morning. This way, I’ve got no other thoughts except what I’ve drafted the day before, and it seems to just work itself out. As a matter of fact, I just gave up on writing what I couldn’t get out of my head until tomorrow morning for that very reason.
I seem to recall reading that Hemingway had a similar practice … wake up early, write for a few hours, then fish. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Seemed to work for him as well. 😉
Be good, Tim. DIgging the variety of posts lately. Cheers, Doc
The morning is magic because you are still close to your dreams and your mind is uncluttered with a hundred prosaic responsibilities, details and dreads.
Awesome post, Tim.
No doubt you’ve heard of/read the War of Art. Totally reminded of that book while reading this.
This is gonna be an interesting journey of yours to follow and learn from- not just going into learning new skills but stepping into the realm of personal creativity. Looking forward to what else you’re gonna provide us, especially since writing is something I’m getting more and more interested in.
I was thinking of the War of Art during this post as well. Its interesting how the principles within numerous forms of “lifestyle design” media ring true, not only in their media form, but in real life. And how cool would it be if Tim wrote a novel!
The timing of this is perfect. Been re-workin, working, and re-working an idea and get so overwhelmed with the content and the ideas and the characters that I end up not completing it. A post re-sparked the idea today, but being a first time book writer, I guess my fear overcomes me. How does one get over that?
It sounds like your writing is being hampered by anxiety. When I was writing The Dream Merchant the expanse of the landscape would sometimes seem overwhelming. You need to discipline yourself to take on your book a page at a time, a chapter at a time. You move on methodically from one challenge to the next without freaking over the immensity of the project. Don’t try to edit so much while you write. That also may bring on writers block when you need flow. You can always go back and take out superfluous material. Good luck.
Great post. Love Josh’s story about the girl in the elevator and am a big fan of Searching for Bobby Fischer. Josh is a remarkable person. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent, greatly appreciate the reinforcement for implementing routine as a writer. Cant wait for part 2!
1. Fantastic Interview.
2. I am a screenwriter and a playwright and I have to say; I’m sorta excited that you are intrigued by writing fiction. I think of writing, as a way to live many lives, many adventures, exploring huge emotions while still living a life of quiet contemplation. You get the best of all worlds. But, Tim, I have to say you were my girl in the elevator once. As a writer, I always felt, that I had to apologize for not being a good little soldier and doing the 9-5, or getting the medical degree, or working on wall street. So I made my life’s passion a real ball buster on myself, I figured, I needed to work hard at it, and not enjoy it all or else… anyway… long story short. Read the 4 HR Books, back to back, use them daily, and you gave me permission to live life on my own terms to deconstruct myself and put myself together in a way I liked. So, yeah, not the same as a tight sweater hug… but thanks big guy. 😉
Thanks for the comment, Mozz! My pleasure entirely, of course. I learn more from my readers every week that I could teach them in a lifetime.
Kia kaha,
Tim
I write, but it’s not my main event…just another way of “saying.” My main event is in visual arts, and what this astonishingly strong interview delves into is the very stuff of “zone”, or “the muse”, no matter what kind of art one does.
Thank you for doing this, Tim. It’s a keeper.
… surprisingly timely, albeit contrarian. Just got this ditty from Maria Popova of Brian Pickings on my FB feed. 😉 Enjoy. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/19/so-you-want-to-be-a-writer-charles-bukowski/
It is always a breath of fresh air to meet someone you admire and they curse, or drink, or just don’t take themselves too seriously. Very inspiring interview.
I loved how you did the bolded teaser. I’m writing/reading with my 10 month old daughter in my lap as she destorys my notepad. anywayas thanks for the bolded thing you did.. i want to read this later before i go to bed. I’m a X-magic the gathering player and am very interested in Waitzkin and any body whodoes or has exp high level gaming. sorry for all the typos.. this comment wuldve never happened otherwis
Wow, thanks for writing about writing, Tim! I The tips are helpful, and it’s refreshing to read about a successful author who actually had no formal training.
Also, I really like how you formatted this post, with the estimated read time and the bolded parts for skimming. Very smart.
Excellent article.
I really like approaching writing as a job. You set your goal for the day and you do it every day no matter what.
To overcome writer’s block, I find the 5 minute exercise really useful. Just set a 5 minute alarm and start typing, stream of consciousness. I find that I get to 5 minutes and turn off the alarm and just keep writing.
Like Stephen King says, writing is the closest thing we have to telepathy- mind to mind communication.
Thanks again for the great post.
I finally read the whole thing. “There is a lot of alchemy in writing. You make a soup, put a lot of stuff in. But if it is a really good soup, what comes out is sometimes surprisingly different than what you put in.” That quote was memorable to me. It’s a really good read for those trying to get better at writing. Really looking forward to part 2. As a quick question, how long do u spend on a blog post Tim? Thanks again.
Neat interview. Very insightful and honest answers which always help to acknowledge myths from truth, specially when it comes to inspiration.
I am also passionate about fiction writing and more so, in what it takes to accomplish great writing.
I would highly recommend the book “The truth about lies” (La verdad de las mentiras) by Mario Vargas Llosa. I am not sure if it is available in English, but now that he won the Nobel, I would think all his books are in English.
Thanks for the awesome content, as usual.
PS: I am also a restaurant owner and I am loving The 4 Hour Chef, and would love to have an email address where to write to you, would it be a possibility to get that? I hope it is 🙂 Greetings from Guatemala, Central America!
Wow! Fred keeps opening up and up about his writing process. His experience of being admired for “his” movie, of bridging his dark shadowy hard working world with his written and to-be-written pages, his takes on wrong and then right inspiration — all remarkable. Look forward to the rest and thanks Tim for being there and asking the questions which lets Fred speak to us.
Inspiration is rarely found “at home”. Like the fellow in the elevator, one needs to get out there to find one’s muse!
Laurie, it took me years to figure out that I needed to search for inspiration. When I was a young writer I kept expecting that it would magically fall on my head, that it would touch me like a bolt from the blue and then I would rush to put it down before inspiration abandoned me. Now I go to places to look for it. I’ve learned to call on “her” like an old friend. Don’t be passive. There are many ways to find “the girl in the elevator.” Seek her out.
Loved this post and I am so intrigued by the whole subject the biggest takeaway for me is the routine. It is so opposite from the way I have always thought about inspiration that it must be correct. Thanks Tim and Josh.
Very inspiring post!
I have been pondering about writing a short book myself, and I hope I will have to time to do so this summer.
Amazon Kindle is probably the best thing that happened ever for aspiring writers.
It is now super easy to get your work published, if it sells that is a completely other story, but at least you can get your work out without paying through your nose or having special connections with a publishing house.
Tim, sorry, I probably should have known this – but did you start publishing on Kindle first or elsewhere?
– John
That’s amazing this article make me knew about how the real writer is look like. And the idea, all of inspiration and many of research they do were incredible.
A great template for character creation is to use the Myers Briggs 16 personality types. You don’t have to buy in the the Myers Briggs model (though you should–the research is solid), but it provides a rich human matrix of clustered behaviors and preferences. You simply assign a character to one of the 16 types and refer to that type’s descriptions when writing about or through that character. Each type comes with specific strengths, weakness, quirks, hobbies, communication styles, and highly descriptive treatises on how each responds to stress. It’s like your ‘learning Japanese Judo one sheet’ for human behavior.
Having read Josh’s book on learning, it makes me wonder how writing Searching influenced Josh’s success in chess. Do you think all the introspection, note taking, decision making, etc. became part of the environment which allowed him to learn and focus?
Do you think things would have been different had you not written the book?
Here is what I think although Josh would surely have his own take. The observing of self is a part of his character, which he has greatly refined over the years. It helped his chess, no question. But the book and the movie are a different story. The movie especially drew so much attention to him. Fans were literally hanging on him–especially girls– while he contemplated moves. It is hard to become one of the best chess players in the world with such distractions. Would he have been a greater player without the book and movie? Maybe. But you just never know how things would have turned out when you change the variables. Maybe he would have lost interest and left the game earlier than he did. Who knows?
Thanks for this inspiring interview, Tim. I myself
have had a few “girl in the elevator” experiences, but
failed to use that energy for my creative endeavors.
Has this ever happened to you? I am in my early 40s and
wishing I could live a rockstar life like yours. I love my
job (sales/merchandising) but eishing I could make more money
with my own muse income. Can you elaborate some
advice you would give to someone in a similar situation? I’m
sure there are other readers of your website wondering
what to do as well.
thanks,
richard
Ps.–i bought Four Hour Chef last November and enjoy
It immensely. Any plans for another book, perhaps similar
to Four Hour Work Week?
Wow! Incredible post! What an interesting backstory. Special thanks to Fred Waitzkin for sharing his journey of self doubt and feeding off the attention once his writing was made into a movie and, how at times he felt like a fraud for accepting the compliments about the movie. So many people see the movie without having read the book. My experience has been that more often than not, most prefer the book (those that have read it prior) over the movie version. But, hey, they don’t call it dramatic license for nothing! Looking forward to Part 2.
Thanks for the kind words. Writing from the heart is the only way I know. Whenever I’m asked about writing I say, tell it from the heart, say what you know and feel. If you write what you feel deeply, chances are I will feel it when I read it.
That last line/story is just amazing. “There are many ways to experience the girl in the elevator…”
Thanks for this one Tim! I’ve decided this is the year I write a novel (or short story), and this is great inspiration (also, the Neil Strauss part of your CreativeLive course was perfect). Can’t wait for part 2.
Yes, there are many ways to experience the girl in the elevator…but the girl in the elevator isn’t bad.
When I finished my high School I wondered me about what would like to do in The future, I had no idea, I just started to read books, a book or two per week, I Felt so good when a told a story, I choce be Writer… here in your blog I found a fantastic fountain of inspiration in my life, this post has been terrific, thanks a lot. Gracias Tim.
Tim, Thanks for sharing this experience. It is exciting to get an insight into how other writers go about their process. Everyone is different in their approach; consistency in showing up at the writing pad/laptop is the number one element for success.
Looking forward to p2.
Really, consistency is huge. Stay with it. Keep going back, take another look. Try again. Sometimes it is hard to get on a roll but once you are there, keep coming to the well. Don’t back off. Establish a routine and stay with it. This is so important with writing and of course many other creative endeavors. Best of luck.
Great insights into pursuing passion! Thanks for sharing this interview 🙂 I can resonate with this perspective, especially.lay as a body worker/entrepreneur.
You continue to amaze me every time I read or hear something about “Tim Ferriss.” To me, you are “that guy” I sat next to on a plane coming home from Vegas nearly 8 years ago. Who had enormous amounts of energy, kindess and compassion about where he had been and was headed in his life. I’m so glad my business partner was knocked out on that plane!
As a person who stuggles on how to get the experiences and pain of my childhood, due to my father being a heroin addict, forger, robber of all, bank robber and more…prisoner for 38 out of my 43 years of life, down on paper, video, just documented.
I can’t get out of my head, let alone my heart, to be clear and understand what the purpose was and is for that experience. I know for certain both of us went through the experience for a purpose. Finding the reason has been difficult….
I would like to know how he finally figured out this road block:
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write and I struggled to publish my work. When I look back on it now, I was too hemmed in by feelings and dark moods”
This was a great read, really good read. I will certainly print this information and save it for future reference.
Cheer to you Tim!
She
Thank you for the great post Post. Writing tips are ALWAYS helpful!
This hit home.
“There are many ways to experience the girl in the elevator…” Man, he’s so right.
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead is a short story found in Laughable Loves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughable_Loves
Such a tease from the first sentence. I was hoping this was going to be an interview with Josh Waitzkin, whose book The Art of Learning is phenomenal. But still a fascinating and helpful interview with his dad. Looking forward to part 2.
It’ll just get better 🙂 I have guest posts from Josh on this blog, also. Just do a search for his name.
Tim
You really feature every topic that interests me. I think it’s save to say if I had to choose between 4HBlog and all other blogs combined, I’d pick the first.
Very insightful. Its always interesting to read about what’s going on inside the heads of good writers. One thing, can you place any more links to “The Dream Merchant”? I don’t think one per paragraph was enough.
It is much better for a writer to feel badly than to not feel at all : GOLD.
I find it too easy to get stuck on the idea of having to be in ‘the right mood’ or in ‘peak state’ in order to write or do anything creative, when in fact trying to get into that ‘right state’ is what prevents it from arising in the first place; Whereas if I were to channel the energy correctly and let it flow then it would evoke creativity.
Thanks Tim and Fred!
I’ve approached writing feeling like an abominable snowman. A far fetched character in a far away land running around crazy to hunt for words. Definitely part fiction and non-fiction. I enjoyed this post immensely. All the emotions on the table and experiences to define writing as a journey. A self journey. It is great relating to the madness of passion. Searching, discovering, allowing energy to come forth in travel and in truth. No longer it seems that moving from one side of the world to another is crazy. That the abominable snowman has purpose. A chance to look inward and decide by a reflection in the snow who to become. Thanks Tim & Fred!
I am reminded of a quote attributed to the artist Chuck Close, ” Inspiration is for amateurs. Most of us just show up and get to work.”
Thanks for the great interveiw, Tim. Especially loved the last Answer!
I’ve enjoyed this and the Part 2. As an aspiring (fiction) writer, I often struggle with writing style, my personal beliefs (and gut) and a host of other issues (not unique at all, I know). Thanks for the inspiration!
Good stuff. Practice and reading other people’s works are really the only ways that you can improve your writing.
“For me, inspiration is primarily energy.” Right there is something that caught my attention, when i was writing my Science fiction psychology thriller crying girl wip. I noticed that some pages where very easy to write because of energy, it felt different more alive than other pages which felt dead.
Now if promoting my kickstarter was that easy, at times i want to bang my head into a wall haha =P
Tim I love the interviews keep these up I get a lot from the stories. They’re written like your books. Much easier to remember the stories of the people you talk to then just simply the lessons learned. Many thanks my friend.
Jeph
Awesome article and interview. Some great advice throughout and interesting information regarding writers block and inspiration.
Splendid interview! I love what he says about inspiration as primarily energy, I’ve always felt the same way.
I love how different writers feel differently about their craft.
Anne Lamott (thanks for the book!) refers to it as to learning oneself in the process of putting events together. Mr Waitzkin tries to build a real stage for the scenes that are yet to come. Stephen King creates compelling characters, put them in motion and than actively observe what happens next. Kurt Vonnegut thought about writing as a real engineer – that the plots have their lines and must-haves. Not to mention great advice that are the legacy of Ersnest Hemingway.
When you see those variables for the first time you can have the impression of “… heck, that’s difficult”. But later, if you try conscious writing by yourself, you realise that it is very, very often exactly the same set of values that will keep the upcoming world together. Magic!
I would love to read more like this…