Joshua Davis: “If I don’t make it happen, I’ll end up back at the phone company”
On one level, Joshua Davis is a tech writer. But his pieces are really about people, from rogue software entrepreneurs to fake internet stars to precocious engineers. And few writers of any stripe investigate their subjects so doggedly, or recreate scenes with such cinematic flair.
Joshua is also one half of Epic Magazine, a new publishing start-up that is collaborating with Medium. We asked him about his writing.
How do you write? Do you have a specific routine or approach you take?
When I started out as a writer, I had a job as a data entry clerk at Pacific Bell, the phone company. It was mind numbing work: I typed numbers into a computer all day and dreamed of writing full time. When Pacific Bell was bought and merged with SBC, management gave out coffee mugs that said, “SBC / Pacific Bell — Make it Happen.” It was a stark reminder to me that I wasn’t making it happen for myself.
Soon thereafter, I left to make a go of it. I took the mug with me. Ever since, I’ve begun my day with a pot of mint tea that I pour into the mug. I sip it and say to myself, “Make it Happen.” In the back of my mind, there’s the implicit threat that if I don’t make it happen, I’ll end up back at the phone company.
Most days are very quiet. I don’t listen to music. I just struggle through 500 to 1000 words. I try to exercise in the afternoons. I try not to work at night. And then I wake up in the morning and try to make it happen all over again.
What’s the one thing you’ve learned over time that you wish you knew when you started out?
A lot of the distribution platforms that currently exist didn’t exist when I was starting out. There was no Kindle Singles, Audible, or Medium. I spent a lot of time trying to adapt my stories to the various magazines I was writing for. If I were starting out now, I would start writing in-depth stories for these new platforms, where the barrier to entry is low. You learn from doing, so the best thing is to get out into the world, start reporting and start writing. And it doesn’t have to be a globe-trotting adventure. I love the idea of finding stories in my own neighborhood and just digging in. There are great stories everywhere.
If somebody asked you for tips on becoming a better writer, what’s the one thing you’d tell them?
I believe in the old adage: Any writing problem is a reporting problem. Any time I get stuck, I do more reporting. So my tip is to try to report your way out any writing problems. Get more information and it’ll point to a way forward.
A version of this interview first appeared in the email newsletter from digital longform publisher MATTER. Sign up today to receive a weekly dose of great stories, enthralling links and insightful tips. And make sure to check out our new story, In the Name of the King, a gripping read about the religious battle over Tutankhamun’s DNA.
