“This is weird, but I have a somewhat athletic approach to writing. I start my days off meditating, take a few minutes to gather myself after that, eat some breakfast
and drink some coffee, and then I put on my headphones and listen to music that gets me sort of fired up, like I’m about to play basketball or something. It’s usually faster stuff, usually something that shares DNA with the punk, indie, and rap stuff I grew up listening to. For my book it was a lot of stuff by the band Beach Slang, also the Weakerthans, Lil Yachty, Kanye’s ‘Ultralight Beam,’ and Jeff Rosenstock. Then when it’s time to write, I pull off my headphones and play something that’s mostly instrumental like Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Stars of the Lid, or even something like Max Richter or Nico Muhly. I just can’t seem to write my own words when I’m listening to somebody else sing theirs, and I’m easily distracted. Having a little routine like this really seems to help, like I’m getting something out of my system before I work.”
—Jason Diamond, author of Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know About Life I Learned From Watching ‘80s Movies (William Morrow, 2016)
Photo credit: Elyssa Goodman