Words, Not Ideas: How to Write a Book | Mattie Bamman | TEDxSpokane

A professional writer who also coaches other writers, helps us find ways to dust off our manuscript and finish that masterpiece that’s been calling our name from under those piles of aspirations.
Mattie John Bamman is a writer and editor focused on food, travel, and poetry. Wine, wilderness, and words brought him to Portland, Oregon, where he serves as editor of Eater Portland and regularly writes for Northwest Travel Magazine. Mattie has contributed to 11 books on culinary travel and 9 travel guides to Italy and the United States, and he also provides developmental editing services to help others write books. He got his start interning at McSweeney’s Publishing and ZYZZYVA literary magazine. See Mattie’s writing and photography portfolios at www.mattiejohnbamman.com.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@runemrick]

"The first million words is just practice," Stephen King.

[@animezae]

This hit me hard.

[@ansonzakai2062]

i dont mean to be offtopic but does anybody know of a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly lost the account password. I would love any tricks you can give me!

[@ahmirnolan7731]

@Anson Zakai Instablaster :)

[@RyanKeane9]

@@ansonzakai2062 quit instagram. Your life will instantly improve.

[@DanSung2021]

@@RyanKeane9 🔥🔥exactly. Edit: I do yt on this type of stuff if you want to check that out.

[@devonboulden2496]

I finished my books and am about to start the next. I don't have a lot of accomplishments to be happy about, but I finished my books and that feels pretty good.

[@isabelabdallah8042]

Devon Boulden do you have any tips on the process?

[@spiceoflife26]

Devon Boulden good for you man.. good for you

[@xocoolchickxo]

that's pretty awesome, well done on your books :D

[@Geoffrey454]

Well done. Keep writing!

[@deesmoove5852]

Devon Boulden That’s THE accomplishment my dude congratulations! 🙏🏾

[@codacreator6162]

Writing isn't hard. Writing WELL is hard. The more you care about the outcome. the harder the process. And the more you learn about the number of possibilities of the the outcome, the harder the process.

[@ghgtt275]

coda creator this is my problem! I'm 16 and when I re read what I wrote I realize that it's terrible

[@MorbidGuardian]

I'm 25. I've been writing for 10+ years and have a bachelor's in English and an MFA from Columbia in fiction writing. I still look back at my writing--no matter how recent or how old--and see glaring, awful mistakes. That never goes away, so you have to get used to it. What helps is that, as you accumulate skill and knowledge, you'll understand how to solve those mistakes. You'll expand your tool box, so to speak, and once daunting mistakes will become manageable. The real work will come more in making sure you've selected the right tool and then employing that tool successfully. It's important to remember that every mistake is fixable, so don't worry about it too much. You'll get around to fixing as many as you can with each revision. You'll probably find more and more, that said, but, hey, there's always the next draft.

[@gistar22]

Train every day and when you ll be 25 it will change and you'll be proud ! Trust me we've all be there !

[@MiguelExhale]

Dave B great information.

[@sonicseducer69]

Dave B can you give examples of "writers tools" you've developed and how/why/what/etc

[@rpee1516]

This poor guy clearly has intense stage fright/is very nervous about public speaking. He did amazingly well to get through all of that and keep it together and coherent the entire time, despite how obviously nervous he was. His talk is actually really interesting, insightful and informative. Kudos to this guy! He did way better than I could have done!

[@alabamajenny8751]

He kept my attention 😍

[@spockjenkins365]

yes im disappointed in the audience for not making him feel more comfortable by showing some enthusiasm and response to his attempts at humor....

[@alexathegr8]

I felt like I had to breathe for him, must have been frightening

[@JunkyardSam]

This is a good quote from the talk: "I want to emphasize the importance of giving your book structure at the very beginning. Don't wait. Structure comes before voice and style because unless you're trying to imitate someone else you're going to sound like yourself. Don't worry about it." --- interestingly that applies to art as well as books. Perhaps all creative efforts...

[@courtneyriane3304]

As someone who’s tried to write for years this layed everything out so clearly. I focus too much on the idea and trying to find a voice that it just turns into a monster and gives me more anxiety then anything else. He does seem nervous but he handles it very well. This is a perfect example of someone facing their fears and growing to make the world a better place...meanwhile people on the internet making comments who have probably not done a single inspiring thing in their entire lives. This was a really good ted talk. :)

[@jovaniegaray368]

This is correct! He inspired me to write and finish my book.

[@Shhabdasanga]

Agree 👍👍 absolutely wonderful

[@bingerjiang5718]

Take home: 1. estimate the total word count (so that you know it's doable). 2. build a framework (so that it's more doable). 3. don't be too hard to yourself, just write. 4. don't worry about voice, you already have a voice.

[@DriscolDevil]

Bing'er Jiang I wish I knew this earlier in life.

[@circesoul2218]

Thank you

[@gabrielalfaia8154]

The hero that we need.

[@doinkindonut]

Thanks!

[@RB-mq6em]

Bing'er Jiang Thanks. Getting through that video was going to be tough...

[@fierypickles4450]

This guy is simple, honest and to the point. He got through this talk despite the stutters and the icy crowd. Almost as if he were a metaphor for his own message, that we too can get through the hump. With a little structure, and as steven king once said, one word at a time

[@cyrushomes7512]

Wow, this lecture inspired me to write my first book. Proud to say I found a publisher, KZbin, to be exact. It's a short book of less than 40 words, and you are reading it now!

[@dlgm161]

Superb talk. I moved from 2-day depressive block to inspiring outline for 10000 word crime fiction novella in 40 minutes after listening to this video. Realized afterwards that all my previous successful writing projects had been written this way. Brilliant.

[@psyce68]

I've just written my first 10,000 word of my book, what an amazing experience it's been so far, I love the whole process, never thought brainstorming was such a great think to do, just wanted to share that👍😊

[@joshuajosiahcolumbus]

Damn. Tough crowd

[@angeleceabbey4700]

I went to elementary school with Mattie, I remember that 12 yo kid. I see how you became the person you have. It’s very inspiring. I too am a writer. What a strange coincidence looking for old elementary school friends and I find this which is exactly what I needed to hear as a writer so thanks Mattie from the annoying girl in 5-6 grade that had a horrible crush. lmao. Thanks for sharing you insight wisdom I needed it.

[@Shhabdasanga]

Sooo.. good to know about you two friends 😁 world is small...

[@naturallytuli8536]

smart jokes, easy delivery, amazing advice.

[@matthelion]

He’s a bit nervous, but I like him.

[@goddessnocturnas]

Oh man... He was super nervous. You can hear it in this breathing and everything. BUT, that makes it more awesome that he went out there and did it anyway. And he made great points.

[@vivianeb90]

When you realize that your joke didn't get the reaction you wanted. 4:14 Don't fret, happens to the best of us.

[@tazanddo]

Stacking words efficiently one by one into the book container, like stacking firewood efficiently in a woodshed, to last the whole the winter. What an amazing insight! Gratefulness to Mattie Bamman.

[@IrishYellow606]

So in essence writing words bring your writing to life. The ideas come first then the words to describe it. The words expand your idea and bring your ideas to life. This is what he means by Words not ideas

[@emilyemm8460]

No one laughed at any of his jokes. How awkward :-/ I enjoyed it.

[@MiguelExhale]

Emma Emm I saw that as well but he may be funny in real life.

[@-skylark234]

Miguel Henry... As opposed to what... fake life?

[@keikofilms]

Emma Emm they did laugh...

[@agagagagagyo]

the jokes were alright but the delivery was poor

[@isabelabdallah8042]

Emma Emm that just shows how much useful information he's offering 😁

[@caedengoering]

This is by far the best video I've seen on writing a book. Especially a nonfiction one. Using this TEDx talk to write a book of my own.

[@MillionDollarBookman]

agreed

[@Shhabdasanga]

Yes me too

[@bluenetmarketing]

It is amazing, because this guy memorized his entire talk. No way could I do that.

[@LuluFrance]

Kinda cool and geeky when a person snickers at their own jokes.... makes me laugh! And I ended up watching this many times, got a lot out of it. Seemed to pop up right at the time I was struggling..... now it is flowing

[@donnasulja6038]

I love this speech so much. I love your message, the creative way you delivered it and your jokes... I wish I was in the room! Thank you for sharing ✨

[@Urania4007]

Knowing your ending, helps, too. I agree about visualization; I've even drawn a picture of my books

[@WolvitaAdventures]

Logical takeaways and guidelines plus a dose of inspiration. Great talk!

[@gardenglory6624]

wow...poor man. great message, but he's so nervous, you can tell. id be scared too.

[@nohadful]

This is a precious presentation. I love the very helpful process, and other details. Thank you!

[@ethicalphytophage]

Very practical deconstruction of the writing process. Thank you for this!

[@antoniapicher9300]

„In fact, ideas get in the way of writing“....holy sh*t. Thank you.

[@StereoChimps]

He has a great point ! Alot of people focus on a great idea and end up writing nothing because his always thinking about the story, but its better to write everyday and alot of words than be stuck with a idea and write nothing at all

[@emanny1986]

This is the most profound how-to tutorial on writing I have ever seen, but for some reason (Judging by the comment section), it seems to have flown over most people's heads.

[@texcellency]

I'm glad KZbin recommended me this video. Love the approach of writing this way. Gonna definitely try...

[@damarisabazie878]

This is one of the best writing advice I have heard and I've heard a lot! The best ones don't usually have much views. Super helpful!

[@intuitivewellness1235]

I like this! It's the most organized way I've ever heard to consistently write a book or books. Time to get started!

[@rashadb954]

I like this nuts and bolts approach. Make a structure and allow your ideas to fall into place, love it!

[@sistergrace9833]

I too grew up in Maine , Rockland Maine . Enjoyed your talk .

[@entkells5803]

"Struggle, relief, new struggle. Curiosity, satiation, curiosity." Brilliant.

[@Fionaharrold]

Thank you for sharing your ideas. Wonderful!

[@mohdshahnawaz3864]

Absolutely loved this video. Thank you so much for this valuable information Mattie. Lots of love from an Australian 🇦🇺

[@moniquechristiansen6202]

This is an amazing talk. Thank you.

[@GailDeshawnda]

One of my favorite talks!

[@dianadevlin3717]

Very illuminating, I was transfixed by your delivery

[@markmottashed2311]

Thank you, great presentation with an endearing presentation. As a newbie writer I found this invaluable. All the best with your endeavours.

[@my2centsttricardobaron252]

This was totally helpful. I watch several similar videos, but THIS ONE really helped answer the questions I still had. Awesome!

[@jeremyw4806]

An Inspiring Autobiography That Will Leave You At A Loss For Words

[@Boothesupreme]

This is the most helpful Ted talk I've ever listened to

[@ernstlouisjacques7001]

What a great presentation! It is helpful and inspiring. Thank you for the time and effort you have put in that.

[@dericahmarie5087]

This helped me a lot. Thanks

[@Shhabdasanga]

The most clear n profound knowledge on book writing...I've gone through many before but this one stands out. Practical doable.... Thank you mattie ! Keep showing..👍👍👍🤩

[@asylumassistsa5316]

This man has a beautiful voice.

[@youtubeoffname]

What a gift to anyone struggling to unravel our confused world? Thank you so very much, sir!

[@StartAStudio]

Awesome video... one of the best, succinct and helpful videos on non-fiction writing I've seen.

[@Theleadersteacher]

Thank You Ted and Thank you very Very Much Mattie Bamman I learn a lot.

[@themiguellebron]

Simply awesome! 👍

[@vickyhudak1765]

I really appreciated this! Thank you! Very helpful! 💕

[@RachelParker-1977]

Thank you for not being monotone. I felt engaged in your speech. Thank you for the advice. God bless you.

[@mmechrizma]

Best direction to writing I've heard for quite some time. Thanks for real advice. ❤

[@sarahstar5444]

thank you! really helpful!

[@NavigatingCareers]

Thank you so so much for the help you’re giving! I’m 50 and have always written but now, I want this book inside of me out…your tips are most helpful! ❤🤗🙏🏻

[@4tytude]

Brilliant one. Thank you!

[@audacitylove]

Thank you! This was very helpful!!

[@gcfoodandculture]

I have a health channel and wanted to write a book on Health, though I have made videos on them on my channel. Writing a book was something I always put off. Now I'm confident that I can do that!. Thank you!

[@agata2787]

Finally someone mentioned famous Ted durning one of his talks :D

[@MariesMemoirs]

This was very useful, thank you for sharing.

[@cynthiaholland13]

Great speech and information. Not a single wasted word

[@englishwithmuzammal3596]

Writing a book without having any prior knowledge, for me, was the best option to dig in/venture on the scary journey, but before I realized it was hard, I had already finished half of the book. The only best way to be adept in writing is just writing. Start doing it rather than thinking about being it useless. No idea is futile, as someone must be in dire need of this idea you are thinking to abandon. Draft, redraft is a chain that looks appealing when the final version appears.

[@yasminyasser9386]

I think this gave me a push. I needed this thank you..

[@indirakochar1768]

Watching this rally helped me to structure my creativity and gave the basic fundamental of books Thank you 😊

[@NickSklias]

Awesome Ted Talk. Love the speaker.

[@Geoffrey454]

He was pretty nervous, but he did a good job. I learned a lot. Thanks!

[@Oneandonlyamirali]

Thank you so much for telling me that it’s ok to take the easy route :)

[@osmanahmed2384]

Very helpful indeed. Thank you

[@drmaniac5763]

I think building a story from an idea is necessary to create something with focus. Granted, if you just write what comes to mind, and then deconstruct what you've got, you'll eventually end up with a story regardless. But that's not to discount the importance of understanding an idea; what does this idea represent? How can I mould that idea to reflect a message, or question? How can a question I've raised be answered? What are the extremes of these answers? What characters would best be used to explore these ideas? This is all thinking about ideas, and it creates so many story possibilities. Of course, you still need to write, and while writing you'll probably come up with even more ideas and ways to explore your idea, but it's still very useful as a starting point

[@JCMcGee]

Brillient.....Perfect for me...I love that "Structure comes before style and voice"...fits with an old design adage: Imitate and then inovate. Has worked for me in the past...find the structure...work it...and your own style can't help but come out. Thank you...I'm off to write!

[@hypesy]

Great talk, using ones imagination to see the book at the bookstore, setting up basic outline with tips to understands the words thatll make up the book.... So simple it just might work🤓

[@plshaq2009]

This is brilliant!

[@smosh3069]

Mattie, I found this Ted Talk to be very informative. Thank you for taking the time. It seems people in the comment section are so critical. Anyone who has only negatives to say should promptly be ignored. It's not easy to speak in front of an audience. I thought you did great. Please continue, you've been a big help to me. Thank You! S.M from Cali

[@avinashavinash3756]

Writing is living with every character and analysing each single emotion and scenarios which is exhausting

[@gondala]

this talks is very important. We set a goal base on the words, not the idea. We usually never know when the writing process of a book is "finished", because we don't have a firm goal. However, after watching this talks, I can imagine that when I reach e.g. 60,000 words, then that mean I have finished it. So the next step is just to revise it to improve the readability.

[@sabahnoorrahman7739]

It was quite informative, thankyou 💕

[@FEEBOLDEN]

this was amazing and helpful

[@chinasacasmir]

I enjoyed this totally

[@TerryRajsombath]

That was great. Thanks!

[@SebSawLLC]

Thank you!

[@TravellinMatt77]

To be fair, I think that this advice works best for non-fiction, as opposed to fiction and poetry. Novels are as long as they need to be, ideas are very important in the first draft, and narrative voice is crucial (especially if you are interested in genre). That said, I have found that words and word choice ARE important during the editing stage, when you can notice extraneous exposition or dialogue, or hit upon a better way of phrasing a narrative passage. Just my two cents.

[@petrofskiwilliams8360]

Thank you inspirational.

[@milesmcquerrey2836]

Log metaphor is on point

[@baderkasly5316]

Just great

[@Tomangel61]

Thank you.

[@isabelabdallah8042]

So inspiring

[@streettalk4thesoul]

GREAT TALK!

[@split_jcgg9613]

This guy is amazing

[@gailh4466]

Short, useful talk. Building a framework gives direction

[@A.G.Birajdar]

Something very important I got from this talk

[@gabriel50505]

Fantastic speech.

[@lilibethvilella]

Finally Published my 1st book at 50 on finding wholeness after divorce called “THE SUN ALWAYS PIERCES THROUGH” 🌳

[@facesofthefrontier4574]

so good

[@Don411cme]

Here are a few famous books and their respective word counts (none of which come close to 80,000 words): 30,644 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 35,968 - Old Yeller - Fred Gipson 36,363 - Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis 42,715 - The Tequila Worm - Canales, Viola 46,118 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 47,094 - The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald This 70,000 word count floor appears to be a recent invention that apparently does NOT apply to past GREAT works of fiction. I just finished writing my first draft of a book in just over three weeks. Its word count is more than the "Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe." Anyway, I found Mattie Bamman's presentations lacking in a "soul." To me a book should blossom from a central initial idea, then take shape, just like when an artist outlines their subject (in their head) then begins to render the eyes or nose or head shape, then adds one piece after another until they have a beautiful (or horrific-looking) composition. In my opinion, when you write from an outline, you get a pile of organized bones sans muscle, tissue and life. This is my two cents.

[@MiguelExhale]

Don Eugene Brown very helpful.

[@IDMon6]

The last couple of ny best sellers under fiction are 90k plus and I think writing agents want it that way these days

[@RossAubrey]

You’ll never reach the readers without appeasing the publishers, sadly. Writing is an industry just like any other, and there are rules. Break them at your own risk, but they’ll see you coming from a mile away. Imagine how many passionate submissions they receive every single day, that aren’t read beyond the first page? Follow market conventions, get published, then once you’re established, that’s when you reap the true creative freedom.

[@somethingdiscreet]

Different strokes for different folks. I can name several great works from modern times and the past two centuries that are short like those you mentioned, or much, much longer. Word count is not set in stone, but your word count should never be arbitrarily decided either. Some books need to be 70,000 words, or 100,000 words, or whatever, whereas others are more poignant with a shorter word count. As for your examples, at least two are children's books, which are usually going to have a smaller word count. And Fahrenheit 451 in my opinion had a very rushed ending that wasn't very satisfying. Just my thoughts.

[@mvprindle]

I agree with what you said about a book taking shape. Every book demands it's own word count depending on what it is trying to say. However, I'd like to point out that the first three novels you list were children's books. Although there wasn't a "children's literature" genre at the time, these days there are specific word counts that publishers look for depending on genre. For example, a YA fantasy from a new author should be about 65-80k words, whereas a fantasy for adults should be about 75-120k words.

[@RenaGoss]

so helpful!!

[@seanq7974]

Oh, how wonderful an idea comes from inspiration that I have to put down word after word in order to approximate the essence of that idea. But I like how he communicates the necessity of setting small, achievable goals. The difficulty is the technical aspects of plodding away day-in, day-out to get your idea on the page. Not entirely divorced...