1 min read

Lessons on Writing from Michael Lewis

I listened to a fantastic podcast with Michael Lewis, where among other things, he dropped several great keys to the way he approaches writing and journalism. Below are the lessons in my own words:

  1. Spend time with people to get past their initial caution

  2. Be active together (don’t just speak “behind a desk” with sources)

  3. Identify things (beyond what’s on display) that someone is un-self conscious/ small side details that make people distinctive in small unnoticed areas of their life / manner

  4. Write about people you admire (e.g. heroes vs villains) so you can authentically befriend them

  5. Take a topic and ask an unusual question about it to get an unusual story

  6. Great writing is about leading the reader to want to know what you are about to tell them

It strikes me that part of this is about how to make friends (1, 2, 3, 4) and part is how to be interesting (4, 5, 6).