Why You Should Push Yourself to Do Hard Things | Nat Eliason (Author)
Plus how Nat is using AI to write a Sci-Fi novel, what he learned from losing $35K in one night in crypto, and how to avoid the dark side of the creator economy
Dear subscribers,
Today, I want to share a new episode with Nat Eliason, one of my favorite writers and creators online.
Watch now on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
Nat is the author of Crypto Confidential, a real-life thriller about how he made and lost millions in crypto. He also shared with me how he uses AI to edit his writing, why he pushes himself to do hard things, and his advice for aspiring creators who want to get started to avoid the dark side of the creator economy.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Prove to yourself that you can do hard things
(02:06) Using AI to edit non-fiction writing
(11:42) 3 ways Nat is using AI to write his sci-fi novel
(19:22) Novel Crafter as an advanced AI writing tool
(26:50) Nat's lowest moment in crypto, losing $35,000 in one night
(34:36) How Nat keeps motivated by giving himself small wins
(38:26) The dark side of the creator economy
(41:43) How to avoid making content that you hate
(45:47) Nat’s best advice for aspiring creators
Keep reading for the interview takeaways.
Using AI to edit non-fiction and fiction
Welcome, Nat! To start, how do you use AI to write online?
I find AI helpful in editing my writing, not so much in writing from scratch.
For example, I recently published a piece called "Traditional Publishing is Fine, Actually" based on my experience writing Crypto Confidential.
My first draft listed all the common complaints with traditional publishing and then refuted each one. When I asked AI for feedback, it said:
“It feels like you’re exaggerating people’s complaints, which weakens your argument. Consider changing these sentences to represent both sides better.”
That was super helpful.
You’re publishing Crypto Confidential and writing a sci-fi novel. What led you to focus on writing books?
I think the best way to learn things is through stories.
If you think about it – some of the best business books are stories. For example, The Goal is a parable about building businesses, and The Fish That Ate the Whale is a crazy real-life story about America’s banana king.
So, I wrote Crypto Confidential as a story about my highs and lows in space, and I’m writing a sci-fi novel to see what I could create if I weren’t constrained by reality.
How are you using AI to write your Sci-Fi novel, Husk?
As I mentioned, AI isn’t great at writing from scratch. Instead, I’ve found it incredibly helpful in 4 ways for crafting my novel: