Makes me think: Virginia would have liked The Honey Badger. As in “HB don’t give a S*it.” I’d add the link but it’s an R-rated video (and a lowbrow version of your message David). Good luck with your next book. The others have more than weathered the critics.
Haha, I love it. Thanks so much for reminding me of that hilarious video, Kate. And I'm all for mixing the brows, as it were. Right now, I'm staring at a book on my floor called "High & Low" which argues, in part, that the brows aren't all that separable anyway, and influence one another. Here it is, if you're interested (and I know this is a full book PDF, but it's linked through a MoMA exhibit): https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1764_300062990.pdf
This is a beautiful post David. Excited that you are embarking on another book. Be bold!
And... I think that Quite is the most important book I've ever read by the measure of how much a book has shaped my understanding of myself. Range gives me faith that I'm going to make a bunch of the threads of my life come together at some point, but Quite let me accept myself.
Greg, this is beautifully put, thanks so much for sharing. And I couldn't agree more about Quiet. Reporting Range made me "feel seen," as they say, but not as much as reading Quiet.
I truly needed to hear this today. The concept of free traits is so interesting and intuitive. I too hope to channel some Shreya doesn’t care in a new project I’m working on. Thanks for writing, David!
Half-convincingly is better than not convincingly. It reminds me of what Neil Gaiman said: “And if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then just behave like they would.”
The chapter I read this morning in “Big Magic” has a “Hippoclides doesn’t care” theme. Elizabeth Gilbert writes, “My deep and lifelong conviction [is] that the results of my work don’t have much to do with me. I can only be in charge of producing the work itself. That’s a hard enough job. I refuse to take on additional jobs, such as trying to police what anybody thinks about my work once it leaves my desk.”
She goes on about how to handle harsh critics. “What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest—as politely as you possibly can—that they go make their own f***ing art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”
Big fan of your work, David, and I hope you continue to make it!
Wow, I love this Steve, thanks so much for sharing. And I know it makes perfect sense, but I still find, at least for me, it's an evergreen battle. ...As an aside, I must say, I learned a lot from Malcolm Gladwell about how to learn from my critics, particularly from how he engaged with me when I was criticizing him. Our first ever meeting was for a debate, and we developed a great relationship based on disagreement!
The stories I've written about my experience growing up in a cult were so easy to write, the words flowed out of my tears and pain like a dam had broken. However, publishing them...I knew I would face blowback, and boy, did I. Cut off from family, harassed, called a liar...but I think you've named how I was able to do it, and I've never been able to name it before. It wasn't that I didn't care, it was that getting the story out was bigger than the inevitable fallout. Thank you for this incredibly insightful look at what caring really means!
Wow, Naomi, I must say, suddenly my own work fears/struggles feel small in comparison to this. This gave me a flashback to when I used to do more traditional investigative stuff, and it usually entailed threats of lawsuits and accusations of lying and so on when stories were published, but I can't even imagine the added layer of being cut off from family. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but I'm drawing some courage today from your determination.
This piece has me thinking about a podcast I listened to yesterday between Morgan Housel and David Perell (https://youtu.be/o84GXnrHdgg). David should have you on for a future episode.
Anyway, the connecting point was one of the topics that Morgan brought up about “selfish writing.” The idea being that you should be your own most important audience. I can’t help but think that selfish writing is related to the type of “Virginia doesn’t care” ethos here. The point being that it’s only human that we care, but we feel that the core project (and audience) is so important that it outweighs the pain of public criticism. The real lesson is to find something you’re so passionate about sharing that the pain of the inevitable negative feedback is worth it.
My favorite takeaway is how Virginia would write out responses to potential criticism ahead of time. By emotionally working through the cycle of anger/hurt back to calm ahead of time, it sounds like that helped her to respond better to criticism when it did come.
Renee, I completely agree. And, I must say, it's amazing how prescient she was with her anticipation of some of the criticism. For her first modernist novel, Jacob's Room, she wrote that it would be called "a disconnected rhapsody," and one critic used almost exactly that phrase.
As a scientist, I think of myself as someone with thick skin when it comes to criticism, having gone through the gauntlet of peer review over and over. And my Substack is more practical than personal. However, when I wrote my first novel, there were pieces of my personality in there. It was harder to let go. A single mediocre review can feel like a gut punch. Your post has me thinking of a new mantra, "Victoria doesn't care." BTW, Little was one of my favorite "characters" in Quiet.
Victoria, you're getting at something here that I feel strongly, which is that my resilience to criticism isn't static but can really change depending on the domain and project. I definitely think some of that has to do with how personal the project is, but honestly some factors I haven't figured out, I just notice this phenomenon in myself. ...Regarding your novel, congrats!! I want to write one eventually too. In reading Virginia's diaries about her first modernist novel, it's interesting to see that she knows it'll get some rough reviews, but that she considered it a necessary step in developing her style.
Yes, for my science, I've been trained to be objective. I can detach. For my fiction, I'm writing to work through stuff, to learn something deeper, even though it may not seem like it when you read the final product. I am excited to hear more about Virginia Wolf. I have this whole modern day Mrs. Dalloway novel in my head that is just screaming to get onto paper.
I see reading a book as an opportunity to experience a little bit of how other people think about and experience life, the world. Or rather *are thinking about*... , where even the new questions themselves give me something to think about. Those are more important to me than whether I always agree with the person who is so kindly sharing a bit of what’s inside of them.
Thank you, David, for the bits you share here, and an Range, which I read and enjoyed (me, someone who left school thinking she hated sports).
Emily, I don't really have a response to this beautiful comment, other than to thank you for the kind words at the bottom. But you made me think of a quote I love, from Kazuo Ishiguro's Nobel speech: "But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it also feel this way to you?"
David, I love hearing about your writing process as well as how you approach your obsessions. I'm curious: how much time do you estimate for a book project? And how do you manage writing a book while also writing a newsletter? I've finally decided to tackle a book project (a memoir in essays) but the idea of keeping up my newsletter at the same time feels daunting!
Hey Jen, I'm going to think more about this and come back and try to give a more complete answer, because I'm not sure how to answer the time question. At a certain point, I have a contract, and I need the deadline because no matter how long it is I will keep tinkering until I'm no longer allowed. But the interest for a big project starts developing long before I ever think of it as a book, so it's hard for me to pinpoint a starting point. ...I'm going to think more about this. As far as keeping the newsletter going at the same time, well, first time I've ever done that, so I'm not sure! Haha...But through my entire first book, and half of my second, I had a day job. With the first, the day job overlapped and was often helpful. With the second, it didn't overlap at all and in the end I had to choose, and left that job to finish the book. Both times, though, I definitely had no work-life balance. This time I do. Overall, I think the newsletter is indeed more work, but also has helpful aspects. I often don't know what I think about something until I try to write about it, so it helps me think out loud, or prototype ideas, basically. And in some cases, especially with Q&As, I'm interviewing someone who might have information useful for my book project. Come to think of it, when she was writing her second novel (Night and Day), which was her last conventional one, Woolf referred to breaks to write short stories as her "treats." Those treats ended up being experiments in a new style that completely changed her work. I also see the newsletter as a bit of a break sometimes, where I can do something contained that isn't as sprawling in my brain as a book. When I write a newsletter (if it isn't a Q&A), I typically sort of splurge something, and then go back and delete, delete, delete, and tighten. And when I'm focused on doing that shortening, I'm really locked in and enjoy the focus. In the sprawling, information collecting phase of the book reporting, I don't get much of that, so I guess the newsletter — while it is indeed a bit daunting to keep going at times — also provides treats of the kind of focus I like, and sometimes is aligned with the topics I'm pursuing anyway. And, I must say, the comments and thoughts people share here (present company definitely included!) have been a wonderful surprise. I had come to think of internet comments sections as inherently awful. So this has been very nice in that way. ...That was very rambly, but, bottom line, I try to remind myself what job I hired the newsletter to do, so to speak: get me writing somewhere when I'm only in research phase for the book; have a place to write where I don't have to feel too polished or perfect; prototype ideas; shares things I find interesting that don't fit elsewhere; have an excuse to interview interesting people. I almost never have a post where I don't want to add more stuff, but when I keep the perspective of what I want this newsletter for, I just send it and don't worry about all the stuff I'd like to add. So that makes it feel less burdensome, and has actually helped me combat some unproductive perfectionism. As a great magazine writer once told me when I was upset about losing a page in an article due to layout issues: "The readers won't know what isn't there."
David, thanks for such a generous response. I'm taking away a couple of ideas. One, the experimentation part of the newsletter is important and somehow I'd forgotten that, despite the fact this book I've now started came from that very experimentation. Goodness the brain is weird! I think what happened is that I imagined the experimentation was now done, and I had to go write the book, but of course we know the experimentation is *never* done, and gratefully so. The second idea I'm taking from your response (and your Woolf post) is that other writers do not have superhuman discipline, but construct environments in a variety of ways to get the book done. Again, I knew that, but it helps to hear the details. It sounds like you do that partly through a contract. I've been using writing classes, with their embedded deadlines, to get pieces done. But the newsletter serves another function for me here--I find it terribly difficult, after 13 years of newsletter writing--to not send something out as soon as I write it. I am very much addicted to the feedback and conversation. So the newsletter gives me a way to engage while I work on the book project. Anyway, thank you again for such a rich response!
Hey David, thanks for sharing this. I really enjoy hearing tidbits around your book research process and I love this picture you shared! My room is filling up with books I've picked up that I want to read (I've also recently started a short tax course which I'm already behind on!) so this picture reminds me a bit of my own room right now. I love the sentiment of "Virginia doesn't care" it's like a really neat mantra that we can all repeat to ourselves when we're struggling with all kinds of projects/activities. And I think part of why the Christmas tree post was especially popular is the minimalist theme, nowadays it feels like we have a lot of information thrown at us and it's nice to sometimes simplify things with a 'less is more' approach. This makes your writing and researching process even more commendable as I have no idea how you manage to assimilate such a wide range of material and funnell it through with your own ideas to distil into a (relatively) short book. I'm excited to hear that you are starting the process for book 3 and wish you all the best with this! I enjoy all of your writing so take your time to produce what you want. Thanks, William.
Hey William! ...I definitely have a book-buying problem. I buy a ton of books, some pretty esoteric, and at this point I know that if I did nothing for the rest of my life but read, I'd never even close to finish the books I already have. That said, often when I'm stuck, I sort of browse my own shelves (or piles), and something stimulates me, or I'm reminded of something helpful. I'm not sure how much of this is self-justification for a book-buying habit, but I do find real value in having lots of books visible, particularly when I'm stuck in some writing and sort of circling back in my head to other ideas. The frustrating part is that I actually can't assimilate all the information I myself have made notes on, so I sort of need to do that circling process just to try to catch and incorporate some of the stuff I already found, but can't hold in memory all the time...if that makes sense. ...Lastly, I love the note about taking my time! Thank you.
I don't think it's a problem for you, in that you could use something from any book of interest to read up on an area or delve deeper into a topic that may help with your own work as well as interests. That's pretty cool, eyeing up all those books! I'm a bit lazy when it comes to reading, I want to push myself to be a more curious, interested observer but sometimes I feel like by the end of my day, when I make it home, I'm not fit for much apart from eating and resting. I would like to have the mental energy to always feel enthusiastic about reading but that's probably a complex process. I wonder when you're in the middle of the book writing process what kind of hours are involved? Like is it 7 days a week, early starts, very regimented.. or do you take an odd day completely off to recharge? I know family matters have meant changes in that regard but I do admire the discipline and self drive necessary.
This is such a great one thanks, David. I find personal journals or correspondence endlessly fascinating (was a lot of your research about Van Gogh from letters he wrote if I remember correctly?). What's your journaling habit like? Do you ever think what people would think of you if they read it? I read something once that the journalist Tim Urban wrote about interviewing Elon Musk, and he said Musk's superpower (and flaw) was his total inability to care about other people's opinions. I'd argue he's maybe taken this a bit too far, and I prefer the free trait that Woolf picks up instead. Also, that is such an impressive Woolf collection! I know you've said before you don't read every word of every book but (1) with fiction I imagine you have to kind of read it all and (2) that's still almost an entire Woolf shelf. Tipping my cap.
Hey Matt! Indeed a lot of my Van Gogh research was from letters to and from him. Thankfully, there's a site that all of that correspondence translated and searchable by date or by correspondent. And the authors of Van Gogh: The Life, also made a site where you could search their sources. Reading Van Gogh's letters was a treat. Of course, some of it is just typical small talk, but when he wanted to really convey some image or idea, he was an incredible writer, and really widely read. And the amount of correspondence that was preserved is amazing, so it's really perhaps an unparalleled portrait of creative transformation. ... I'm with you regarding the free trait of not caring, as opposed to the full time trait of not caring. I think we end up without a society if we have too much of that. I find it hard to understand Musk. On the one hand, he certainly seems not to care. On the other hand, I can hardly imagine someone who overreacts more to pretty standard criticism at times. I suppose I can understand that combination if everything he does is cynical marketing. ...Regarding reading every word, definitely with fiction I'm more likely to read all of it. And my mindset going in is planning to read all of it. Although, even in fiction, I often have a stack I'll sample at night. But with Woolf's novels, I've been reading the full thing. As you can tell from a close look at the photo in this post, I have a bunch of different copies of Jacob's Room, and Mrs. Dalloway, and that's for different introductions, and annotations. So I'm going over those carefully. I think for fiction I'm actually becoming more of a re-reader. Right now, one treat I have in my head for when I finish my next book is starting Ulysses over! It's amazing to me that that book didn't fade into oblivion, because it's so difficult on first blush. But I'm glad it didn't, because if one is willing to put in the work, it's just an incredible experience. That modernist era of literary innovation is really something special to me. I just asked ChatGPT:
"Pretend a large group of literature professors got together, and were asked to identify the three most important decades in all of human history in terms of literary innovation. I realize that literature is subjective, but make a case for the decades they would choose."
Here's what it gave me:
"1. 440s - 430s BCE (5th Century BCE)
Why: Classical Greek Period
Highlight: Emergence of drama as a major literary form with playwrights such as Sophocles and Euripides.
Impact: Established fundamental structures of storytelling and drama, setting a foundation for Western literature and theater.
2. 1590s - 1600s (Late 16th / Early 17th Century)
Why: The English Renaissance
Highlight: Flourishing of Shakespeare’s works and other Elizabethan poets and playwrights.
Impact: Defined a golden age in poetry and drama, enriched language, and established themes and structures for future literary exploration.
3. 1920s - 1930s (Early 20th Century)
Why: Modernism and The Harlem Renaissance
Highlight: Innovative narrative techniques like stream-of-consciousness, and the Harlem Renaissance’s celebration of African American culture.
Impact: Pioneered new literary styles, broadened representation, and reshaped literature to be more exploratory and reflective of contemporary societies."
...a little surprised it didn't mention Cervantes in #2, as you could make an argument that he invented the novel.
Wow. I really admire how you're so well read that you're able to have a handle on different eras of literature and literature innovation. I feel like I read a good deal, but I have a ways to go with fiction. Did you study this at all in school or is this entirely a product of reading in your free time? It's another reminder that however much I'm reading I need to read more. I'm glad Ulysses hasn't faded. I can't get at it right now during the school year, but it might be a fun summer project. Regarding your bit on having different copies of books for their annotations and introductions, this reminds me of something I heard Tyler Cowen say once (and I'm sorry if I've already told you this) which is that his favorite bit of signaling for how much you read is being able to say which translator/translation you prefer. Between that and preferring a book for its annotations/intro, I'd say it's a pretty good sign someone knows what they're reading.
Haha, that's a good point by Tyler. And please always feel free to tell me something you already told me. I have to circle back on my notes and ideas constantly! And still can't assimilate them all. ... I studied environmental science and astronomy in college (and then environmental science in grad school), but I did have a literature class as a requirement that really spun my head around, and led me to take two more literature classes with electives. (Here's a little Q&A with me and the teacher who changed my reading life: https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/issue/spring20/article/%E2%80%9Crange%E2%80%9D-and-higher-education) ...But honestly I wouldn't say I became a voracious reader really until I was probably about 30. I read stuff, but not like I do now. Or, in my late 20s I started voraciously reading scientific journals and books, and then expanded to other areas. I'm also not sure how well-read I am versus being pretty good at incorporating stuff I read into my semantic network so I can use it. With regard to the copies of Woolf, though, I'm researching her creative process, so I'm driven by my own book-writing process. Having a sort of curiosity-objective is really an amazing propellant for me to read a lot. I actually don't think I'm normally capable of learning as ferociously as I do when I'm in research mode. It's almost like the difference between running as hard as you can in practice and a race. ...I digress, as usual. If you do decide to give Ulysses a try, let me know first so I can recommend some of the resources that helped me. I would've been totally lost without some of the outside resources.
Wow cool Q&A. Columbia should really advertise it more as the good that can come form the Core Curriculum (if they don't already). I was guilty of the same achievement-focused mindset in college, and maybe (just maybe) 19-year-old Matt would've listened to you. The image of Professor Crawford putting up shades in the classroom to convey symbolism will stick with me for a while. I'm sometimes a little afraid to try something that ambitious with my students because I'm afraid of looking silly if it falls flat, but I guess that's just early-career insecurities talking. Regarding what you said about a curiosity-objective fueling you and the race/practice analogy, that makes a lot of sense. It reminds me again of the guy from your Adam Grant Q&A who would learn languages by just jumping into conversations with native speakers knowing only a few phrases. It really raises the stakes. I'm excited to read about Woolf in your next project, and I'll keep you posted about Ulysses in the mean time.
I think that's a fair concern, as I was in a college classroom and it fell flat for me. It took me a long time — and getting a literal "see me after class" — to start changing my mind. At least Julie is aware that she changed me. Some other people who taught me things that took me a long time to incorporate don't really get to see the result of their good work. Maybe we need an app where, years later, you can send your teacher a note about how you finally realized they were right about something. Could be nice for kids/parents too. ...Easy for me to say from outside the classroom, but I wonder if, assuming something did fall flat, you could turn that into a non-cognitive skills lesson about be willing to try something even if it might fail. Again, VERY EASY for me to say from here. But those models matter. I have an ugly M83 sweatshirt specifically because I appreciated how, after a hit album (with the song "Midnight City"), he kept experimenting instead of repeating, and it led to another album that was cool and interesting but not a big commercial success. So the sweatshirt, for me, is explicitly a symbol of courage for experimentation. And it helps that it's ugly, because I think that's part of his willingness to experiment, even though I gather he's a shy guy. We've come full circle with symbolism;)
That's an amazing idea for an app. That type of message is one of the most universally beloved things I've come across both in the realm of education in otherwise, and it would be great to have an infrastructure to support it. Not sure what it would look like for now, but I'll file that away.
Love the sweatshirt symbolism. Matt doesn't care, right? The man in the arena, etc, etc. The willingness to experiment always makes me think of your Holmes quote from Range that "All life is an experiment." It helps me realize the stakes are lower than I think. And while I'm feeling quote-y, anything about persevering through failure reminds me of one of my all time favorite Kobe quotes from the director of a Kobe documentary: "Deron Williams went like 0-9. I was like, 'Can you believe Deron Williams went 0-9?' Kobe was like, 'I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game, because Deron Williams can get more shots in the game. The only reason is because you've just now lost confidence in yourself.'"
Makes me think of the David Beckham documentary on Netflix, that I was watching last night. If you want a good example of ''David doesn't care'', there is no better exemple of how Beckham dealt with the whole UK after the 98 World Cup. Thanks for another great post and can't wait for your new book!
Delighted to see you mention Brian Little's work. I've found his approach to personality to be extremely useful. The idea that we can learn how to act 'out of character' and get better at it helps us to not just pursue our goals but to stretch ourselves more generally and take the sort of exploratory approach to life that you advocate in Range.
Makes me think: Virginia would have liked The Honey Badger. As in “HB don’t give a S*it.” I’d add the link but it’s an R-rated video (and a lowbrow version of your message David). Good luck with your next book. The others have more than weathered the critics.
Haha, I love it. Thanks so much for reminding me of that hilarious video, Kate. And I'm all for mixing the brows, as it were. Right now, I'm staring at a book on my floor called "High & Low" which argues, in part, that the brows aren't all that separable anyway, and influence one another. Here it is, if you're interested (and I know this is a full book PDF, but it's linked through a MoMA exhibit): https://assets.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1764_300062990.pdf
This is a beautiful post David. Excited that you are embarking on another book. Be bold!
And... I think that Quite is the most important book I've ever read by the measure of how much a book has shaped my understanding of myself. Range gives me faith that I'm going to make a bunch of the threads of my life come together at some point, but Quite let me accept myself.
Greg, this is beautifully put, thanks so much for sharing. And I couldn't agree more about Quiet. Reporting Range made me "feel seen," as they say, but not as much as reading Quiet.
I truly needed to hear this today. The concept of free traits is so interesting and intuitive. I too hope to channel some Shreya doesn’t care in a new project I’m working on. Thanks for writing, David!
"Shreya doesn't care"...I love it! Even if we're only half-convincing ourselves, I still think it's going to help.
Half-convincingly is better than not convincingly. It reminds me of what Neil Gaiman said: “And if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then just behave like they would.”
I love Neil Gaiman, and he is either wise or pretending to be wise. ...We're definitely on the same wavelength today;)
The chapter I read this morning in “Big Magic” has a “Hippoclides doesn’t care” theme. Elizabeth Gilbert writes, “My deep and lifelong conviction [is] that the results of my work don’t have much to do with me. I can only be in charge of producing the work itself. That’s a hard enough job. I refuse to take on additional jobs, such as trying to police what anybody thinks about my work once it leaves my desk.”
She goes on about how to handle harsh critics. “What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest—as politely as you possibly can—that they go make their own f***ing art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”
Big fan of your work, David, and I hope you continue to make it!
Wow, I love this Steve, thanks so much for sharing. And I know it makes perfect sense, but I still find, at least for me, it's an evergreen battle. ...As an aside, I must say, I learned a lot from Malcolm Gladwell about how to learn from my critics, particularly from how he engaged with me when I was criticizing him. Our first ever meeting was for a debate, and we developed a great relationship based on disagreement!
The stories I've written about my experience growing up in a cult were so easy to write, the words flowed out of my tears and pain like a dam had broken. However, publishing them...I knew I would face blowback, and boy, did I. Cut off from family, harassed, called a liar...but I think you've named how I was able to do it, and I've never been able to name it before. It wasn't that I didn't care, it was that getting the story out was bigger than the inevitable fallout. Thank you for this incredibly insightful look at what caring really means!
Wow, Naomi, I must say, suddenly my own work fears/struggles feel small in comparison to this. This gave me a flashback to when I used to do more traditional investigative stuff, and it usually entailed threats of lawsuits and accusations of lying and so on when stories were published, but I can't even imagine the added layer of being cut off from family. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but I'm drawing some courage today from your determination.
Another great one David. Love your storytelling.
This piece has me thinking about a podcast I listened to yesterday between Morgan Housel and David Perell (https://youtu.be/o84GXnrHdgg). David should have you on for a future episode.
Anyway, the connecting point was one of the topics that Morgan brought up about “selfish writing.” The idea being that you should be your own most important audience. I can’t help but think that selfish writing is related to the type of “Virginia doesn’t care” ethos here. The point being that it’s only human that we care, but we feel that the core project (and audience) is so important that it outweighs the pain of public criticism. The real lesson is to find something you’re so passionate about sharing that the pain of the inevitable negative feedback is worth it.
My favorite takeaway is how Virginia would write out responses to potential criticism ahead of time. By emotionally working through the cycle of anger/hurt back to calm ahead of time, it sounds like that helped her to respond better to criticism when it did come.
Renee, I completely agree. And, I must say, it's amazing how prescient she was with her anticipation of some of the criticism. For her first modernist novel, Jacob's Room, she wrote that it would be called "a disconnected rhapsody," and one critic used almost exactly that phrase.
As a scientist, I think of myself as someone with thick skin when it comes to criticism, having gone through the gauntlet of peer review over and over. And my Substack is more practical than personal. However, when I wrote my first novel, there were pieces of my personality in there. It was harder to let go. A single mediocre review can feel like a gut punch. Your post has me thinking of a new mantra, "Victoria doesn't care." BTW, Little was one of my favorite "characters" in Quiet.
Victoria, you're getting at something here that I feel strongly, which is that my resilience to criticism isn't static but can really change depending on the domain and project. I definitely think some of that has to do with how personal the project is, but honestly some factors I haven't figured out, I just notice this phenomenon in myself. ...Regarding your novel, congrats!! I want to write one eventually too. In reading Virginia's diaries about her first modernist novel, it's interesting to see that she knows it'll get some rough reviews, but that she considered it a necessary step in developing her style.
Yes, for my science, I've been trained to be objective. I can detach. For my fiction, I'm writing to work through stuff, to learn something deeper, even though it may not seem like it when you read the final product. I am excited to hear more about Virginia Wolf. I have this whole modern day Mrs. Dalloway novel in my head that is just screaming to get onto paper.
I see reading a book as an opportunity to experience a little bit of how other people think about and experience life, the world. Or rather *are thinking about*... , where even the new questions themselves give me something to think about. Those are more important to me than whether I always agree with the person who is so kindly sharing a bit of what’s inside of them.
Thank you, David, for the bits you share here, and an Range, which I read and enjoyed (me, someone who left school thinking she hated sports).
Emily, I don't really have a response to this beautiful comment, other than to thank you for the kind words at the bottom. But you made me think of a quote I love, from Kazuo Ishiguro's Nobel speech: "But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it also feel this way to you?"
David, I love hearing about your writing process as well as how you approach your obsessions. I'm curious: how much time do you estimate for a book project? And how do you manage writing a book while also writing a newsletter? I've finally decided to tackle a book project (a memoir in essays) but the idea of keeping up my newsletter at the same time feels daunting!
Hey Jen, I'm going to think more about this and come back and try to give a more complete answer, because I'm not sure how to answer the time question. At a certain point, I have a contract, and I need the deadline because no matter how long it is I will keep tinkering until I'm no longer allowed. But the interest for a big project starts developing long before I ever think of it as a book, so it's hard for me to pinpoint a starting point. ...I'm going to think more about this. As far as keeping the newsletter going at the same time, well, first time I've ever done that, so I'm not sure! Haha...But through my entire first book, and half of my second, I had a day job. With the first, the day job overlapped and was often helpful. With the second, it didn't overlap at all and in the end I had to choose, and left that job to finish the book. Both times, though, I definitely had no work-life balance. This time I do. Overall, I think the newsletter is indeed more work, but also has helpful aspects. I often don't know what I think about something until I try to write about it, so it helps me think out loud, or prototype ideas, basically. And in some cases, especially with Q&As, I'm interviewing someone who might have information useful for my book project. Come to think of it, when she was writing her second novel (Night and Day), which was her last conventional one, Woolf referred to breaks to write short stories as her "treats." Those treats ended up being experiments in a new style that completely changed her work. I also see the newsletter as a bit of a break sometimes, where I can do something contained that isn't as sprawling in my brain as a book. When I write a newsletter (if it isn't a Q&A), I typically sort of splurge something, and then go back and delete, delete, delete, and tighten. And when I'm focused on doing that shortening, I'm really locked in and enjoy the focus. In the sprawling, information collecting phase of the book reporting, I don't get much of that, so I guess the newsletter — while it is indeed a bit daunting to keep going at times — also provides treats of the kind of focus I like, and sometimes is aligned with the topics I'm pursuing anyway. And, I must say, the comments and thoughts people share here (present company definitely included!) have been a wonderful surprise. I had come to think of internet comments sections as inherently awful. So this has been very nice in that way. ...That was very rambly, but, bottom line, I try to remind myself what job I hired the newsletter to do, so to speak: get me writing somewhere when I'm only in research phase for the book; have a place to write where I don't have to feel too polished or perfect; prototype ideas; shares things I find interesting that don't fit elsewhere; have an excuse to interview interesting people. I almost never have a post where I don't want to add more stuff, but when I keep the perspective of what I want this newsletter for, I just send it and don't worry about all the stuff I'd like to add. So that makes it feel less burdensome, and has actually helped me combat some unproductive perfectionism. As a great magazine writer once told me when I was upset about losing a page in an article due to layout issues: "The readers won't know what isn't there."
David, thanks for such a generous response. I'm taking away a couple of ideas. One, the experimentation part of the newsletter is important and somehow I'd forgotten that, despite the fact this book I've now started came from that very experimentation. Goodness the brain is weird! I think what happened is that I imagined the experimentation was now done, and I had to go write the book, but of course we know the experimentation is *never* done, and gratefully so. The second idea I'm taking from your response (and your Woolf post) is that other writers do not have superhuman discipline, but construct environments in a variety of ways to get the book done. Again, I knew that, but it helps to hear the details. It sounds like you do that partly through a contract. I've been using writing classes, with their embedded deadlines, to get pieces done. But the newsletter serves another function for me here--I find it terribly difficult, after 13 years of newsletter writing--to not send something out as soon as I write it. I am very much addicted to the feedback and conversation. So the newsletter gives me a way to engage while I work on the book project. Anyway, thank you again for such a rich response!
Hey David, thanks for sharing this. I really enjoy hearing tidbits around your book research process and I love this picture you shared! My room is filling up with books I've picked up that I want to read (I've also recently started a short tax course which I'm already behind on!) so this picture reminds me a bit of my own room right now. I love the sentiment of "Virginia doesn't care" it's like a really neat mantra that we can all repeat to ourselves when we're struggling with all kinds of projects/activities. And I think part of why the Christmas tree post was especially popular is the minimalist theme, nowadays it feels like we have a lot of information thrown at us and it's nice to sometimes simplify things with a 'less is more' approach. This makes your writing and researching process even more commendable as I have no idea how you manage to assimilate such a wide range of material and funnell it through with your own ideas to distil into a (relatively) short book. I'm excited to hear that you are starting the process for book 3 and wish you all the best with this! I enjoy all of your writing so take your time to produce what you want. Thanks, William.
Hey William! ...I definitely have a book-buying problem. I buy a ton of books, some pretty esoteric, and at this point I know that if I did nothing for the rest of my life but read, I'd never even close to finish the books I already have. That said, often when I'm stuck, I sort of browse my own shelves (or piles), and something stimulates me, or I'm reminded of something helpful. I'm not sure how much of this is self-justification for a book-buying habit, but I do find real value in having lots of books visible, particularly when I'm stuck in some writing and sort of circling back in my head to other ideas. The frustrating part is that I actually can't assimilate all the information I myself have made notes on, so I sort of need to do that circling process just to try to catch and incorporate some of the stuff I already found, but can't hold in memory all the time...if that makes sense. ...Lastly, I love the note about taking my time! Thank you.
I don't think it's a problem for you, in that you could use something from any book of interest to read up on an area or delve deeper into a topic that may help with your own work as well as interests. That's pretty cool, eyeing up all those books! I'm a bit lazy when it comes to reading, I want to push myself to be a more curious, interested observer but sometimes I feel like by the end of my day, when I make it home, I'm not fit for much apart from eating and resting. I would like to have the mental energy to always feel enthusiastic about reading but that's probably a complex process. I wonder when you're in the middle of the book writing process what kind of hours are involved? Like is it 7 days a week, early starts, very regimented.. or do you take an odd day completely off to recharge? I know family matters have meant changes in that regard but I do admire the discipline and self drive necessary.
This is such a great one thanks, David. I find personal journals or correspondence endlessly fascinating (was a lot of your research about Van Gogh from letters he wrote if I remember correctly?). What's your journaling habit like? Do you ever think what people would think of you if they read it? I read something once that the journalist Tim Urban wrote about interviewing Elon Musk, and he said Musk's superpower (and flaw) was his total inability to care about other people's opinions. I'd argue he's maybe taken this a bit too far, and I prefer the free trait that Woolf picks up instead. Also, that is such an impressive Woolf collection! I know you've said before you don't read every word of every book but (1) with fiction I imagine you have to kind of read it all and (2) that's still almost an entire Woolf shelf. Tipping my cap.
Hey Matt! Indeed a lot of my Van Gogh research was from letters to and from him. Thankfully, there's a site that all of that correspondence translated and searchable by date or by correspondent. And the authors of Van Gogh: The Life, also made a site where you could search their sources. Reading Van Gogh's letters was a treat. Of course, some of it is just typical small talk, but when he wanted to really convey some image or idea, he was an incredible writer, and really widely read. And the amount of correspondence that was preserved is amazing, so it's really perhaps an unparalleled portrait of creative transformation. ... I'm with you regarding the free trait of not caring, as opposed to the full time trait of not caring. I think we end up without a society if we have too much of that. I find it hard to understand Musk. On the one hand, he certainly seems not to care. On the other hand, I can hardly imagine someone who overreacts more to pretty standard criticism at times. I suppose I can understand that combination if everything he does is cynical marketing. ...Regarding reading every word, definitely with fiction I'm more likely to read all of it. And my mindset going in is planning to read all of it. Although, even in fiction, I often have a stack I'll sample at night. But with Woolf's novels, I've been reading the full thing. As you can tell from a close look at the photo in this post, I have a bunch of different copies of Jacob's Room, and Mrs. Dalloway, and that's for different introductions, and annotations. So I'm going over those carefully. I think for fiction I'm actually becoming more of a re-reader. Right now, one treat I have in my head for when I finish my next book is starting Ulysses over! It's amazing to me that that book didn't fade into oblivion, because it's so difficult on first blush. But I'm glad it didn't, because if one is willing to put in the work, it's just an incredible experience. That modernist era of literary innovation is really something special to me. I just asked ChatGPT:
"Pretend a large group of literature professors got together, and were asked to identify the three most important decades in all of human history in terms of literary innovation. I realize that literature is subjective, but make a case for the decades they would choose."
Here's what it gave me:
"1. 440s - 430s BCE (5th Century BCE)
Why: Classical Greek Period
Highlight: Emergence of drama as a major literary form with playwrights such as Sophocles and Euripides.
Impact: Established fundamental structures of storytelling and drama, setting a foundation for Western literature and theater.
2. 1590s - 1600s (Late 16th / Early 17th Century)
Why: The English Renaissance
Highlight: Flourishing of Shakespeare’s works and other Elizabethan poets and playwrights.
Impact: Defined a golden age in poetry and drama, enriched language, and established themes and structures for future literary exploration.
3. 1920s - 1930s (Early 20th Century)
Why: Modernism and The Harlem Renaissance
Highlight: Innovative narrative techniques like stream-of-consciousness, and the Harlem Renaissance’s celebration of African American culture.
Impact: Pioneered new literary styles, broadened representation, and reshaped literature to be more exploratory and reflective of contemporary societies."
...a little surprised it didn't mention Cervantes in #2, as you could make an argument that he invented the novel.
Wow. I really admire how you're so well read that you're able to have a handle on different eras of literature and literature innovation. I feel like I read a good deal, but I have a ways to go with fiction. Did you study this at all in school or is this entirely a product of reading in your free time? It's another reminder that however much I'm reading I need to read more. I'm glad Ulysses hasn't faded. I can't get at it right now during the school year, but it might be a fun summer project. Regarding your bit on having different copies of books for their annotations and introductions, this reminds me of something I heard Tyler Cowen say once (and I'm sorry if I've already told you this) which is that his favorite bit of signaling for how much you read is being able to say which translator/translation you prefer. Between that and preferring a book for its annotations/intro, I'd say it's a pretty good sign someone knows what they're reading.
Haha, that's a good point by Tyler. And please always feel free to tell me something you already told me. I have to circle back on my notes and ideas constantly! And still can't assimilate them all. ... I studied environmental science and astronomy in college (and then environmental science in grad school), but I did have a literature class as a requirement that really spun my head around, and led me to take two more literature classes with electives. (Here's a little Q&A with me and the teacher who changed my reading life: https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/issue/spring20/article/%E2%80%9Crange%E2%80%9D-and-higher-education) ...But honestly I wouldn't say I became a voracious reader really until I was probably about 30. I read stuff, but not like I do now. Or, in my late 20s I started voraciously reading scientific journals and books, and then expanded to other areas. I'm also not sure how well-read I am versus being pretty good at incorporating stuff I read into my semantic network so I can use it. With regard to the copies of Woolf, though, I'm researching her creative process, so I'm driven by my own book-writing process. Having a sort of curiosity-objective is really an amazing propellant for me to read a lot. I actually don't think I'm normally capable of learning as ferociously as I do when I'm in research mode. It's almost like the difference between running as hard as you can in practice and a race. ...I digress, as usual. If you do decide to give Ulysses a try, let me know first so I can recommend some of the resources that helped me. I would've been totally lost without some of the outside resources.
Wow cool Q&A. Columbia should really advertise it more as the good that can come form the Core Curriculum (if they don't already). I was guilty of the same achievement-focused mindset in college, and maybe (just maybe) 19-year-old Matt would've listened to you. The image of Professor Crawford putting up shades in the classroom to convey symbolism will stick with me for a while. I'm sometimes a little afraid to try something that ambitious with my students because I'm afraid of looking silly if it falls flat, but I guess that's just early-career insecurities talking. Regarding what you said about a curiosity-objective fueling you and the race/practice analogy, that makes a lot of sense. It reminds me again of the guy from your Adam Grant Q&A who would learn languages by just jumping into conversations with native speakers knowing only a few phrases. It really raises the stakes. I'm excited to read about Woolf in your next project, and I'll keep you posted about Ulysses in the mean time.
I think that's a fair concern, as I was in a college classroom and it fell flat for me. It took me a long time — and getting a literal "see me after class" — to start changing my mind. At least Julie is aware that she changed me. Some other people who taught me things that took me a long time to incorporate don't really get to see the result of their good work. Maybe we need an app where, years later, you can send your teacher a note about how you finally realized they were right about something. Could be nice for kids/parents too. ...Easy for me to say from outside the classroom, but I wonder if, assuming something did fall flat, you could turn that into a non-cognitive skills lesson about be willing to try something even if it might fail. Again, VERY EASY for me to say from here. But those models matter. I have an ugly M83 sweatshirt specifically because I appreciated how, after a hit album (with the song "Midnight City"), he kept experimenting instead of repeating, and it led to another album that was cool and interesting but not a big commercial success. So the sweatshirt, for me, is explicitly a symbol of courage for experimentation. And it helps that it's ugly, because I think that's part of his willingness to experiment, even though I gather he's a shy guy. We've come full circle with symbolism;)
That's an amazing idea for an app. That type of message is one of the most universally beloved things I've come across both in the realm of education in otherwise, and it would be great to have an infrastructure to support it. Not sure what it would look like for now, but I'll file that away.
Love the sweatshirt symbolism. Matt doesn't care, right? The man in the arena, etc, etc. The willingness to experiment always makes me think of your Holmes quote from Range that "All life is an experiment." It helps me realize the stakes are lower than I think. And while I'm feeling quote-y, anything about persevering through failure reminds me of one of my all time favorite Kobe quotes from the director of a Kobe documentary: "Deron Williams went like 0-9. I was like, 'Can you believe Deron Williams went 0-9?' Kobe was like, 'I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game, because Deron Williams can get more shots in the game. The only reason is because you've just now lost confidence in yourself.'"
Makes me think of the David Beckham documentary on Netflix, that I was watching last night. If you want a good example of ''David doesn't care'', there is no better exemple of how Beckham dealt with the whole UK after the 98 World Cup. Thanks for another great post and can't wait for your new book!
Simon, this documentary was not on my radar, but it is now on my "movies to see" Notes app entry. Very curious to check it now. Thank you!
So excited for the new book! Huzzah!
Hey Ruth! Always lovely to see you here...and would love to hear an update, although maybe that's better over email;)
Being keenly aware of the state of your inbox, I am always hesitant to add to it . . . ; But I SHALL send an update - and that right soon!
Delighted to see you mention Brian Little's work. I've found his approach to personality to be extremely useful. The idea that we can learn how to act 'out of character' and get better at it helps us to not just pursue our goals but to stretch ourselves more generally and take the sort of exploratory approach to life that you advocate in Range.
Seth, so glad you appreciated it, and thanks so much for this comment. You brought this full circle with Range more eloquently than I have;)