- DeepDive
- Posts
- DeepDive Sneak Preview #4: Jerry Stahl
DeepDive Sneak Preview #4: Jerry Stahl
DeepDive instructor and acclaimed author Jerry Stahl on the necessary urgency of the creative act, and why it's important to go where the fear is.
Brad Listi
April 02, 2025
Hi there,
In this week’s newsletter, a preview of a great conversation with the Jerry Stahl, author of several acclaimed novels, including I, Fatty, Plainclothes Naked, Bad Sex on Speed, and Happy Mutant Baby Pills. Jerry is also the author of the classic addiction memoir, Permanent Midnight, which was made into a movie starring Ben Stiller.
We’re thrilled to have Jerry as an instructor in our debut course, How to Write a Novel—available later this year.
I spoke with Jerry about the process of becoming a novelist, and the difference between people who want to write a novel vs. the people who have to write a novel.
Jerry Stahl. (Photo: Mercedes Blackeheart)
DeepDive: I have to believe that over the years you've had young writers come up to you and ask you for advice on how to do it. We talked about getting your ass in the chair. Most writers will say some version of this. You’ve just gotta do the work. But is there anything else that you would say to people who ask you: How do I write a novel, Jerry? What do I have to do?
Jerry Stahl: I tell people they have to scare themselves. That’s just me. When you start writing things and your sentences take you places that you might not want to go. And you just have to trust it and hang on.
And again, I don't give advice. This is just my experience. If you're writing and you're thinking, What do I need to do? How do I do this? How do I write a novel?—Great to have an outline. Great to have passion. But ultimately it comes down to the fact that you don't have a choice. In the end, the novel writes you and you have to fucking shut up and get out of the way and sit down.
For me, writing is so much easier than living than life. So when I talk to young writers, I ask them about the rest of their lives. If they're happy. And if things are going great, it's like, Well, you know, okay. But I don't know if I want to read your book—you know? I'm a pain snob. I don't trust anybody who hasn't been to hell.
Jerry is an unflinching, fearless, and very (darkly) funny writer. His body of work is a testament to the necessary urgency of the creative act, and a willingness to follow his sentences wherever they may lead—even if they lead him into difficult terrain.
***
As for How to Write a Novel…Post-production continues, and the course is coming together beautifully.
Believe me when I tell you that there has never been an audio course on writing quite like this one.
How to Write a Novel is a wide-ranging, expansive, nuanced, personal, and polyphonic exploration of the art of fiction.
At DeepDive, we believe that if you want to learn how to do something difficult, the best way to do so is to hear directly from people who are already doing it—and doing it at a high level.
Thanks so much for reading. More soon.
Remember to follow DeepDive on Instagram and BlueSky. And if you have thoughts or questions, you can always email us here.
All the best,
Brad
Brad Listi
Founder | DeepDive
www.deepdive.audio
Quote of the day:
Hunter S. Thompson (Getty Images)
Beware of looking for goals. Look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life.