As the author of 12 books, English professor W. Scott Olsen knows how to write and how to do it well. He was recently featured as an expert for the How to Write a Good Book episode of “The Conversation Room,” a new YouTube series by international editor and publisher Tomasz Trzebiatowski.
In the interview, Olsen explains how it’s exceedingly difficult to write a good book because ‘good’ is defined by each reader, but he shares that a few essential elements are patience, specifics, and research.
Comparing it to a waltz in that no two people will do it the same, Olsen advises people to embrace their personal way of writing.
“Style grows out of you. It’s not something you adopt,” Olsen says. “It comes out of patience and long practice.”
When it comes to writers’ block and self-doubt, Olsen says those are common issues that take work to overcome.
“When I’m struggling to come up with something real or a way to explain something that there’s no good language for, I don’t see it as an impediment,” he says. “I see it as a challenge — a way to think deeper and then to push harder.”