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James Wallman

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The United Kingdom

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November 2013

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James Wallman is a journalist and trend forecaster. He has forecast the future and written for clients and publications such as Absolut, BMW, Nike, the Guardian, The New York Times, Esquire and GQ. In the line of duty, he has interviewed terrorists, the victims of serious crime, Noam Chomsky, and a woman who wanted to marry her alarm clock.

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

James Wallman Take a walk. Drink coffee. Drink wine. Play sport: run, walk, cycle, climb, play football. Or, just go work somewhere different. Or, just wear differe…moreTake a walk. Drink coffee. Drink wine. Play sport: run, walk, cycle, climb, play football. Or, just go work somewhere different. Or, just wear different clothes (really: it makes me feel like a different writer.) Watch The Office (US version - it's so much better and there are so many, and more interesting, characters. And it's ultimately funnier too.) Read genius writers for inspiration: especially Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Lewis, PJ O'Rourke, Laurie Lee, P G Wodehouse, Herodotus, Spike Milligan, Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese (esp "Frank Sinatra has a cold" in Esquire). Read "how to write non-fiction" guides like the New New Journalism. Also, Stephen King's On Writing - the essential starter for anyone who wants to write. Remember what an editor of mine (at a magazine where I was a staff writer) told me: write it like it's just a story you're telling, then go back and find out where it's true, where you've smoothed out the edges. Remember what AA Gill wrote in the forward of one of his books: that what you leave out is as important as what you put in. Remember what Gladwell wrote in the foreword of What the Dog Saw, about how the mark of good writing isn't that it persuades you, but that it makes you think about the world in a different way. There's more, I'm sure, & I'm going to add more to this list… but this is a start. Ways of getting over writer's block are so important. It's that Stephen King-meets-Hemingway thing: you write the first draft with the door closed, it's for you, you're just having fun. And it's fine if it's, as Hemingway said, it's shit. Then you edit with the door open, for your audience. You cut all the dreadful stuff that poured out, you shape, sharpen, prune, cut back from the messy mass of stuff you started with, to create something closer to what the sculptor Alberto Giacometti would have recognised: the essence, only the stuff that has to be there, and nothing more. It's a challenge, but you have to get it out of you first, you have to let it grow wildly, before you then trim it back. Hey, everyone has their way, mine's a little like that. (less)

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James Wallman’s books

Average rating: 3.49 · 4,343 ratings · 592 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Stuffocation 3.49 avg rating — 3,507 ratings — published 2013 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Time and How to Spend It: Seven Ways to Better Days 3.52 avg rating — 800 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stuffocation 3.41 avg rating — 27 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stuffocation 3.63 avg rating — 8 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	你怎麼過今天，就怎麼過今生：哈佛、康乃爾教授都在用的STORIES時間整理術，7個方法過更好的生活 by James Wallman (Goodreads Author), 詹姆斯・沃曼 liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tijd en hoe die te besteden: De 7 regels voor rijke, gelukkige dagen 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Does PR rule the world?: A study into the primary definers of travel journalism 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Time and How to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stuffocation: Living More With Less: Written by James Wallman, 2015 Edition, Publisher: Penguin [Paperback] by James Wallman (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by James Wallman…

James is Currently Reading

James Wallman is currently reading

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire

by David Remnick

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James Wallman said: " The New Yorker is the reader's magazine. There's a reason David Remnick is its editor: and you can see that reason on every page of this book. It's a phenomenon, quite frankly. His writing is incredible: simple, vivid, brings scenes to life, full of ...more "

Feb 12, 2014 03:58PM · see review

Quotes by James Wallman (?)

“the best place to find status, identity, meaning, and happiness is in experiences,”
― James Wallman, Stuffocation: Why We've Had Enough of Stuff and Need Experience More Than Ever

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“Instead of trying to understand who we really are, we reach for the “Real Thing”. And when the goods we buy fail to match up to those deep desires, instead of giving up on material goods, we just keep banging our heads against the wall and buying more.”
― James Wallman, Stuffocation

tags: minimalism

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“people sacrifice too much life to get more stuff.”
― James Wallman, Stuffocation: Why We've Had Enough of Stuff and Need Experience More Than Ever

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