R.F. Kuang: Meet The Writer Who Sold Millions of Books Before 30 | How I Write

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R. F. Kuang came on the show to talk about her love for language and what it means to live like a writer. She has written seven books, won the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and trained at some of the world's top universities: Cambridge, Oxford, and Yale.

What stands out is her ability to write in so many different voices: the economical, the poetic, the minimalist, the maximalist. How do you cultivate that dexterity as a writer? It is rare to meet someone who writes so well and can also explain their process with such joy and precision.

00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:29 How emotions can help you write 00:06:44 Writing from different povs 00:09:15 Sneak peek into an unreleased novel 00:15:20 Why easy writing fails 00:18:46 How to unlock your writing 00:23:09 Building unique voices for each book 00:30:47 What Kuang learned from debates 00:32:52 Why primary sources matter 00:35:33 What AI can never do 00:40:54 First steps of a book 00:45:16 Trust your subconscious

00:50:25 Copy the writers you love 00:52:57 Be goofy on purpose 00:57:34 The driving questions of her books 00:58:16 Read Taipei Story now 01:01:36 What her students must understand 01:04:38 Book and movie recommendations

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.

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