Who: Mike McHargue

Claim To Fame: Mike McHargue is a speaker and public educator for the highest profile companies, media, and non-profits in the world. Audiences trust him to use empathy and deep scientific insights to navigate the most difficult parts of the human experience. He’s the host of Ask Science Mike, co-founded the chart-topping show The Liturgists Podcast, and is the bestselling author of Finding God in the Waves, and You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass)

Where To Find Mike: His Website, Amazon, Twitter

Praise For Mike: “Seldom do I find a book that puts together good psychology, readable science, and practical wisdom as what you now have in your hands! You’re a Miracle will reveal that Mike McHargue is a bit of a miracle, too.” — Richard Rohr, New York Times bestselling author of The Universal Christ

When do you like to write? Are you regimented about your writing routine?

I write first thing in the morning, most mornings. I am very regimented about that. I get in the zone and run out of steam around noon, at which point I shift to working on other media that I create. If the fire is there, I stay with it—but days where I put in 6 or more hours, I know the next day will feel “off.”

Where do you like to write? What does your ideal work environment look like?

I write at my desk. I’ve carefully shaped my environment in my office to be ergonomic, quiet, and visually calm.

Do you have any pre-writing rituals or habits before you sit down to write?

I take a shower and pour a cup of coffee. I play music while I write (almost exclusively by Sleeping At Last).

Do you struggle at all with that dreaded enemy of writing: writer’s block? Do you think such a thing exists?

There are days I don’t know what to write. On those days, I write about what it feels like to not know what to write, which keeps the rhythm going. But, those days are pretty rare. I am voracious reader, and that feeds my output, because things I learn in different books connect in my head in ways that surprise me, and then I want to write about that.

Your new book You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) is your second book. What did you learn the first time around that you applied with the new book?

Because I’d already published a book, I thought I was a “real pro” and the second would be easy. I over-engineered a outline and citation process that would “save time.” It was so arduous that it almost killed the book. I’m learning every book is different, and that there’s no shortcut around that wild and wooly animal we call the first draft.

All of your work is meticulously researched. What is your process for collecting and organizing material you might want to use for your future writing?

I use Evernote to save and organize just about everything that I read online. I buy copies of books that I read, and when I am working on a book, I turn my bookshelf into a visual bibliography, organized by chapter. That way, I can just spin my chair around and remember what reference materials I have for a given passage. My reference books get stuffed with index cards and marked up with highlighters.

You also run several awesome podcasts. How has podcasting helped your writing? How has your writing helped your podcast? Are there lessons you’ve been able to take from both paths and apply to the other?

Writing and podcast are both just storytelling. Practicing one makes me better at the other. Podcasting helps because it allows me to maintain near realtime interaction with audience, so I learn what works and what does not. Writing allows me to go deeper into an idea than a podcast because readers have more time to explore an idea with you.

What books or writers have most influenced the way you think and the way you write?

My favorite writers are exceptional researchers who speak in a clear, powerful voice. The four authors whose work I most admire (and seek to emulate) are Austin Channing Brown, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Shauna Niequist, and Carl Sagan.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Write every day. Read every day. Both are essential. Writing is something you do for yourself first. If your work grows into something you can share, or even make income from, that’s great. But, writing is first and foremost a workout of the soul.

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