Patrick Radden Keefe: How to Write Captivating Stories | How I Write

About this episode

Patrick Radden Keefe shares insights on writing captivating narrative nonfiction and overcoming challenges in storytelling.

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. 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…

People in this episode

Host: David Perell

Guest: Patrick Radden Keefe

Topics covered

• narrative nonfiction
• writing techniques
• storytelling
• journalism
• interview strategies

Keywords

• narrative nonfiction
• writing
• storytelling
• journalism
• Patrick Radden Keefe
• David Perell
• Sackler family

Sponsors

Mercury

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Yorker

Books & works: book about the Sackler family

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