Friday Finds (Bradbury, Star Wars, Copywork, Talent)

[Read in your browser here.]() Hi friends, "I wish I could write more, but [Write of Passage]( is too much of a time commitment" is one of the more common responses I get from Finds readers. Well, I have some good news for you. I built a solution and it's called Writing Sprints where I'll take you from the seed of an idea to a published piece in one day. I'll walk you through the writing process, give you access to our team of editors, and hit publish on an article with you at the end of the day. So if you want to get unstuck on a writing project, [sign up for our next sprint](=) on Friday, November 3rd. How I Write [[video preview]​](=) When it comes to turning writing into profit, [Sam Parr]() is as talented as anybody. He founded a newsletter company called The Hustle, grew it to ~1.5 million subscribers and sold it for an eight-figure exit. His podcast, My First Million is also one of the biggest business podcasts in the world. Here's what stuck out about his writing process during our interview: - The best market research tool was invented thousands of years ago: talking to your customers. Get your finger on the heartbeat of your customer’s problems. Otherwise, you’re shooting in the dark. ​ - It doesn’t matter if you’re easy to read, if you’re also easy to forget. Aim to get stuck in your readers’ mind like a catchy song. Be easy to read, but hard to forget. ​ - Sam credits a practice called "copywork" for helping him build an 8-figure media business. He learned it from Benjamin Franklin, and it's the way we used to teach kids how to write. The method is simple: have people copy others' writing by hand. ([Here's a clip about it](=)). ​ (Watch on [YouTube](=) | Listen on [Apple]() or [Spotify]() ​ Today's Finds ​[Ray Bradbury, on Writing](): Bradbury is most famous for writing Fahrenheit 451. The sign he kept above his typewriter used to say: "Don't think." He thought writers should skip college because the professors are so opinionated, snobby, and intellectual. When you get in your head you start to rationalize yourself away from basic truths like who you are, what you are, and what you want to become. When you think, you start lying. You stop surprising yourself, and when the surprise disappears, so does the life in your writing. Better to feel your way through the writing process instead. Making lists of things you love and hate (and writing about them intensely) is his recommended way to do that. ​[Joseph Campbell and the Mythology of Star Wars](=): Legend has it that George Lucas' early drafts of Star Wars weren't very good. The plot was a mess. The characters were dull. He got the guidance he needed when he discovered Joseph Campbell's book: The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where he learned about story archetypes and the Hero's Journey. After reading the book, Lucas got to focusing on mythology, folklore, and fairy tales (all of which had basically disappeared from Western culture). Lucas thought that aligning his stories with classic narrative arcs would make it resonate and stand the test of time. He was exactly right. Here's a [three-minute synopsis](=) from Campbell's perspective. ​​[Shop Class as Soulcraft](=): This essay reveals the downsides in the transition from physical labor to knowledge work. Manual trades have lost their honor and the material world has lost its mystique. So has craftsmanship, where people pursue excellence for its own sake. Part of the challenge is that the media narrative is shaped by urbanites who prioritize knowledge work and vaguely scoff at manual laborers. ​[Postscript on Societies of Control](): In this short essay, Gilles Deleuze argues that modernity has been characterized by three stages: (1) before Napoleon, we lived in societies of sovereignty, (2) after World War II, we lived in societies of discipline, and (3) we’re now moving into a society of control. The essay anticipated many modern developments, such as the ability for big technology companies to shape speech and behavior without ordinary people realizing how strongly they’re being controlled. Before reading, [here’s a summary](=). ​[Omens of Exceptional Talent](=): Some fun ones in this short post... fast when it matters, slow when it doesn’t; figure out assignments from people they respect on their own and deliver way above expectations on them; keep promises; have specific, correct hot takes; have thought through everything; you have no clue how they’ve done what they’ve done; consistently surprise me; ok with being low status & not afraid to do things that are not viewed as “normal." ​ ​ P.S. I'll be speaking at the [Main Street Summit]( in Columbia, Missouri next month and would love to see you there. It's a festival geared toward owners, operators, and investors of small businesses (and [the list of speakers](=) is so good that it's giving me low-grade imposter syndrome). Have a creative week, [David Perell Logo 2x] Thanks for reading! If you’re serious about learning to write, [sign up for my 50 days of writing series.]() I’ll send you a series of emails about every aspect of the craft, from finding new ideas, to editing your writing, to building an email list. If you'd like to update your email settings, choose one of the options below. 1. [Click here]() to unsubscribe from Friday Finds only. 2. [Unsubscribe]( to be removed from all future mailings. That'll make me sad. But hey... I get it. You're busy. Just know that once you click this link you won't receive any more emails from me. If you want to opt-out of Friday Finds and don't see a link above to do so, just hit reply and let me know. I'll take care of it for you personally. 10900 Research Blvd Ste 160C PMB 3016, Austin, Texas 78759