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  • If you're writing about people, you

  • have to be interested in people.

  • What makes a question a good question?

  • Well, I like a question like, do you children shower?

  • Who is the drunkest customer that you've had today?

  • I met this woman one time, and I said,

  • when was the last time you touched a monkey?

  • And she said, oh, can you smell it on me?

  • In this class, I'll talk about connecting with people

  • and asking them questions.

  • I'll talk about keeping a diary.

  • It begins with a notebook.

  • I'll be reading a few of my published essays.

  • "Lisa, you're a natural."

  • I'm often asked, what does your family

  • feel when you write about them?

  • Well, I thought I would bring my sister Lisa here and find out

  • from her.

  • [LAUGHS]

  • I go willingly to my desk every morning and write in my diary.

  • I write something over probably 12 to 18 times.

  • Writing is rewriting.

  • And when you read in front of an audience, and I'll make notes,

  • and I'll rewrite it, read it, rewrite it, read it,

  • rewrite it to get an idea of the overall rhythm.

  • The danger is writing something that just stops

  • instead of something that ends.

  • A huge part of writing is learning to trust yourself.

  • And that just comes with experience.

  • I wrote every day for 15 years before my first book came out.

  • Most of the writers that I know have similar stories.

  • Write something that stinks.

  • Try and fail.

  • Failure is fantastic.

  • Don't underestimate failure.

  • You have to connect with people on some level.

  • And it's good to pay attention and keep

  • a diary because, every now and then,

  • your life feels like a story.

  • It's exciting to think that you're

  • living in this world with all these other people.

  • And today, is an opportunity for you

  • to connect with some of them.

  • That makes life worth living.

  • I'm David Sedaris, and this is my MasterClass.

If you're writing about people, you

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