Writing and running marathons are very much alike: a writer has a quiet, inner motivation, and doesn’t seek validation in the outwardly visible. Exerting yourself to the fullest, within your individual limits, is the essence of running and a metaphor for life. Murakami shares the lessons he has learned in life, and how he releases them as a part of the storyline in a novel.

Creative nonfiction is not making something up but making the most of what you have. When moving from your first draft to your fourth, expect a 4:1 ratio of writing time (i.e. if the first draft takes 2 years, then the combined second, third, and fourth drafts will take 6 months). Nobody writes like you, therefore a good editor’s goal is to help writers make the most of the patterns that are unique about them.

Epstein argues creative achievers tend to have broad interests in adjacent domains and take expertise accrued in one area and apply it to a completely new one (innovation). Instead of working backward from a goal, work forward from promising situations, reflect, and adjust your personal narrative. By struggling to generate an answer on your own — even a wrong one — you significantly enhance long-term learning.

Thinking in terms of probability rather than “yes” or “no” triggers a more open-minded exploration of alternative hypothesis, making us more likely to explore the opposite side of an argument more often and more seriously. The people with the most legitimate claim to a bulletproof self-narrative have developed habits around accurate self critique. Sharing your uncertainty with others invites collaboration in the same way scientists share their experiment methodology.