Screenwriter/Novelist Alan Watt on Writing as a Desire to Evolve

Writers at the Well

Novelist, screenwriter, and founder of LA Writers' Lab Alan Watt talks with host Tess Callahan about his creative process, meditation, and the meaning he finds in teaching. He discusses the writing of his award winning novel Diamond Dogs and his many popular books on writing. Watt asserts that the desire to write is connected to the desire to evolve. In both his writing and meditation practices, Watt is all about inquiry. In this interview, he encourages you to give yourself permission to write, to exorcise whatever within you wants to be freed, to assert your boundaries, and to release limiting beliefs about yourself and the world. A brilliant teacher, Alan talks about bringing a sense of trust and mutual respect into his online courses. "If you don't love your students," he says, "you shouldn't be teaching."
Alan Watt is an L.A. Times best-selling author, screenwriter, and consultant to Hollywood writers and producers. He has won awards for his novel Diamond Dogs and his feature film "Eddie, Kill the President." His popular books on writing include The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, The 90-Day Screenplay, and The 90-Day Rewrite. Alan is the Founder and Creative Director of L.A. Writers' Lab, where he teaches online workshops to writers throughout the world.

Tess Callahan is the author of the novels APRIL & OLIVER and DAWNLAND. She holds an MFA from Bennington College and is a certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher taught by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. She offers author interviews on her Substack: https://tesscallahan.substack.com/publish/home, and guided meditations on her sister podcast Heart Haven Meditations, available on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere.
By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show. Thank you for listening!
Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Guided Meditation Podcast: Heart Haven Meditations
Meditations on Insight...