Writing Advice from Ta-Nehisi Coates

I just finished Coates’ latest book and I’m really excited to see him live here in Seattle in a few weeks.  As I’ve been venturing into other realms of writing this year I’m finding that I’m drawn to hearing from other writers about what the process is like for them.  I feel like I’m really late to the game and there is so much I need to learn.

When Coates’ mentions plugging away and persisting until you’re 35, I definitely felt a wave of panic.  What if you didn’t start until you were 35…?  Either way, it’s a short video and I gleaned some valuable insights, particularly about writing being a process of failure and how hard it is to get that which is gleaming and bright in your head out onto the page.  That definitely resonates with my own experience and it’s a relief to hear that I’m not alone.

Want to read some of his stuff?

The Case for Reparations
The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration
Between the World & Me
The Beautiful Struggle