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Morgan Housel: How to Master Writing | How I Write

Overview

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Morgan Housel: How to Master Writing | How I Write

How I Write

2025/10/15
How I Write

How I Write

2025/10/15
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Morgan Housel is one of the top non-fiction writers in the world. He is most famous for his book “The Psychology of Money”, which has now sold more than 8 million copies. Before he wrote the book, he wrote more than 4,000 blog posts for publications like ...

Highlights

In this insightful conversation, David Perell sits down with Morgan Housel, one of today’s most influential non-fiction writers, to explore the art and craft of storytelling. Rather than focusing on Morgan’s background or success, the discussion dives deep into the mechanics of how stories are found, shaped, and told in a way that resonates across psychology, finance, and human behavior.
05:16
A strong hook draws readers more effectively than moralizing statements.
13:28
The human touch is what makes writing truly amazing.
22:57
Most good writers are independent and unstructured wanderers.
25:18
Many non-readers force themselves to finish bad books, but selective quitting improves reading quality.
27:08
Writing 4,000 blog posts taught me what works by embracing harsh feedback.
31:45
A bad book can mark one's career, while a bad blog post can be forgotten
45:43
Good prose can make flawed thinking more tolerable.
49:54
Good writing is fun to read and often written quickly, while bad ideas lead to laborious, forced output.
56:11
Good writing requires observation, reading, and thinking—activities compromised by packed schedules
59:46
Ken Burns edits scripts to match the beat of the music, unlike traditional historians.
1:06:11
A homeless man wrote 'Dances with Wolves' and changed film history
1:08:16
The Psychology of Money was rejected by all U.S. publishers but succeeded anyway.

Chapters

Collecting Good Stories
00:00
Storytelling Beats Facts
04:12
How to Hook Readers
05:16
How Morgan Uses ChatGPT
08:39
Teaching vs Preaching in Writing
15:53
The #1 Worst Writing Advice
18:01
Wide Funnel, Tight Filter Framework
25:18
How to Find Your Writing Style
27:08
Why Write Books in an Online World
31:45
How Morgan Wrote ‘The Art of Spending Money’
36:20
Morgan’s Admiration for Beautiful Writing
47:16
How to Start a Chapter
53:28
Becoming More Observant
57:18
You Don’t Need New Ideas
1:01:01
How Morgan Deals With Rejection
1:08:16

Transcript

Morgan Housel: Just get to the point, Get to the freaking point. That has always been the case, but it's way more today. David Perell: Morgan Housel is one of the top nonfiction writers in the world. He is most famous for a book called The Psychology of M...