In this episode of Deviate, Ryan and Rolf talk about “Big Idea” books, how Ryan’s philosophical trilogy of books came about, and how word-of-mouth works better than categorization in helping people find your books; how storytelling is better than dry analysis when it comes to writing books on a topic like Stoicism, and how writing for general audiences differs from writing for “elite” audiences (13:00); why ancient ideas and examples are often more dependable than contemporary ones, and why it’s good to read as diversely as possible (22:00); what a “commonplace book” is, and how it can fuel your creative life (29:30); the difference in focus between the research phase of a book and the writing phase, and how to best plan and structure books (45:00); Ryan’s writing habits, how he balances his day with non-writing tasks, and the importance of maintaining momentum (58:30); and the process of how he decides on which themes and projects to explore next (1:03:00).

More episodes available at: https://rolfpotts.com/deviate/

Ryan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net
Stillness is the Key: https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Key-Ryan-Holiday/dp/0525538585

Rolf Potts:
https://rolfpotts.com
https://twitter.com/rolfpotts

Music By: Cedar Van Tassel
https://cedarsvt.bandcamp.com/album/lumber