Write Like You Talk
Turn lived experience into clear prose by writing in your natural voice.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 84%
Johnnie Clark's method begins with purpose: preserve the truth for family and honor the people in the story, rather than chase sales. He then recommends writing in the same voice used to tell the story aloud, which removes the pressure to sound formally literary. Craft improves through a recurring feedback loop. Clark took a noncredit creative writing course that critiqued ten pages each week, then enrolled in the same course repeatedly until the manuscript had been worked through. The mechanism combines an authentic spoken voice with disciplined external critique and rewriting. A first-time author does not need strong academic credentials to start, but does need a story worth preserving, regular pages, honest feedback, and the willingness to revise the full manuscript before considering publication or self-publication.
Origin
Clark says he barely passed high-school English, then repeatedly took the same St. Pete College creative writing course while developing Guns Up from a family record into a published memoir.
Core principles
- 01Write from a real purpose rather than from a desire for money or bestseller status
- 02Use the language and cadence you naturally speak with
- 03Improve the manuscript through repeated critique and rewriting
- 04Write for yourself or your family before worrying about publication
How to run it
- 1
Choose a purpose bigger than sales
Decide whose story and truth the manuscript should preserve. Treat family understanding and honoring the people involved as the first outcome.
Pro tip Write it for yourself and your family before thinking about the market.
Watch out Starting with bestseller or income expectations can distort the reason for writing.
- 2
Tell the story aloud
Explain the scene in your normal speaking voice before or while drafting it. Keep the language close to how you naturally tell the story.
Watch out Do not force an academic voice that hides the storyteller.
- 3
Draft a steady batch
Produce a manageable set of pages on a recurring schedule. Clark's course worked in ten-page weekly critique batches.
Pro tip A fixed critique batch makes a book-sized project easier to sustain.
- 4
Get structured critique
Use a creative writing course or critique group to test whether readers can follow and feel the story. Return with the next batch instead of waiting for a perfect draft.
Watch out Private drafting alone removes the feedback loop that improved Clark's manuscript.
- 5
Rewrite the whole manuscript
Apply the feedback and keep cycling through the material until the entire book has been critiqued and rewritten. Only then decide whether to seek a publisher or self-publish.
Pro tip Publication can remain optional; a finished family record is already a valid result.
In the wild
After a back injury ended Clark's work as a mailman and martial arts instructor, he joined a noncredit creative writing course at St. Pete College. The class critiqued ten pages per week, so he kept enrolling in the same course until its feedback had covered his manuscript.
→ He completed Guns Up despite describing himself as an unlikely writer with weak school grades.
Common mistakes
Trying to sound like a writer
Replacing your natural voice with formal language can remove the authenticity that makes a lived story compelling.
Writing only for money
Clark advises writing because you love it or want the family record, not because you expect a bestseller.
Skipping repeated critique
A single draft misses the recurring reader feedback and rewriting that Clark used to develop the complete book.
Is it for you?
Best for
People preserving a family, service, or life story without formal writing credentials.
Not ideal for
Writers primarily seeking a fast commercial release without a personal story or sustained revision process.
From the transcript
“the most important thing I got out of all those creative writing courses was write like you talk”
“Take some creative writing courses. You're going to learn a lot.”
“write it for yourself and write it because you love it.”
From the episode
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Johnnie Clark