How to Write Captivating Stories (Patrick Radden Keefe Interview)

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 https://mercury.com Patrick Radden Keefe is going to teach us how to write narrative nonfiction. It's something he's been doing for 20 years as a staff writer at the New Yorker. He's also written six full-length nonfiction books. Patrick is known for this style called Write Around Reporting. So you want to focus on somebody who's wealthy or powerful, and they're just like, "No, I'm not going to talk to you. I flat out refuse." How do you still get that story done? That is Patrick's area of expertise. He did this with his book about the Sackler family, where they basically said, "We're going to threaten to sue you if you write this book." So then I said, "Well, what is it that you do to tell that story once you find it?" And he said, "You got to find your Donkey. A donkey to pull you through the piece." I was like, "What do you mean by that?" Well, you're about to find out. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:07 Write Around Reporting 00:06:46 How to get to the truth 00:09:03 Using place to describe people 00:12:14 Dealing with fear and danger 00:14:24 How to choose the right story to tell 00:21:29 What makes a good intro 00:30:29 How Patrick structures his writing 00:34:05 What happens before research 00:38:39 How to write cinematic scenes 00:40:57 Articles vs books 00:47:18 What is Narrative Nonfiction 00:49:34 Arthur Sackler's marketing playbook 00:54:54 What he learned from his editors 01:01:42 Patrick's writing routine 01:03:33 How to learn to write better *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: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell

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