Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at mercury.com
Wright Thompson is one of the best nonfiction storytellers in the world right now. He showed up to my place, and I immediately liked his vibe. We started talking, and it turns out we both love Guinness Zero. So we cracked open a beer, and we just talked about the writing process.
How do you tell a great story? How do you nail an ending? How do you use details to bring a character to life? That's what this episode is all about, and it's a heck of a lot of fun, too.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:50 Writer’s vomit vs writer’s block
00:08:33 The architecture of writing
00:11:30 What makes for a good story
00:15:57 Bringing characters to life
00:21:11 “The hammer”
00:26:26 Writing a vivid scene
00:33:41 How to bring places to life
00:39:57 Dialogue vs quotes
00:45:49 The role of secondary characters
00:51:44 The problem with “brainstorming”
00:54:33 Definitive writing lessons
01:02:13 What makes for a great ending
*About the host*
Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
*Follow me*
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
YouTube: youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
X: https://x.com/david_perell
This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at mercury.com
Wright Thompson is one of the best nonfiction storytellers in the world right now. He showed up to my place, and I immediately liked his vibe. We started talking, and it turns out we both love Guinness Zero. So we cracked open a beer, and we just talked about the writing process.
How do you tell a great story? How do you nail an ending? How do you use details to bring a character to life? That's what this episode is all about, and it's a heck of a lot of fun, too.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:50 Writer’s vomit vs writer’s block
00:08:33 The architecture of writing
00:11:30 What makes for a good story
00:15:57 Bringing characters to life
00:21:11 “The hammer”
00:26:26 Writing a vivid scene
00:33:41 How to bring places to life
00:39:57 Dialogue vs quotes
00:45:49 The role of secondary characters
00:51:44 The problem with “brainstorming”
00:54:33 Definitive writing lessons
01:02:13 What makes for a great ending
*About the host*
Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
*Follow me*
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
YouTube: youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
X: https://x.com/david_perell
