Peter Heller - Chasing the Flow

Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Mountain & Prairie Media

Places & Travel, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2019

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Peter Heller is a renowned novelist, as well as an award-winning adventure writer and former contributing editor to "Outside," "Men's Journal," and "National Geographic Adventure." Since age eleven, Peter has been committed to the craft of writing, and his lifelong love of words and stunning prose are the threads that connect all of his work– from fiction to non-fiction to poetry. His most recent novel, "The River," is the culmination of Peter's decades of storytelling– the book weaves a masterful tale that combines adventure, deep friendships, wild places, chilling violence, and page-turning suspense. [For those of you who subscribe to my bimonthly book recommendations email, you may remember that I devoured the book in less than two days and absolutely loved it!]

Peter was born, raised, and educated on the east coast but headed West soon after college to paddle rivers and immerse himself in the wide-open spaces of the American West. His writing career has taken him to some of the most far-flung corners of the earth. Still, he always returns to the Rockies, where he currently splits his time between Denver and Paonia, a rural community on Colorado's Western Slope. The people and landscapes of the West play prominent roles in all of Peter's novels, and his talent for capturing the beauty and complexity of people and wild places is second to none.

We met up at Peter's home in Denver and had a fun, wide-ranging conversation covering everything from his early obsession with writing to his current writing process to our mutual love of surfing. We discuss his first big paddling trip in Colorado, which started his decades-long love affair with the West. We talk about his early days as a professional writer– discussing everything from how he made it work financially to how he dealt with rejection. We dig into the specifics of his daily writing routine, and why he stops writing at 1,000 words, even if he is mid-scene. We also talk about how he avoids thinking when writing novels, his obsession with "finding the flow" in writing and outdoor pursuits, the importance of momentum, and balancing physical exuberance with the writer's life. If you love Peter's books, the West, or learning about writers, you will love this episode.

And as a special bonus, I'm giving away a copy of "The River" via Instagram. On Friday, January 3, 2020, I'll post all the details, so head to my Instagram page, give me a follow, and be on the lookout for the giveaway. You can either search by my name- Ed Roberson- or follow this link. "The River" was one of the best books I read in 2019, so I know you'll enjoy it too.

Thanks again to Peter for being so generous with his time and so insightful with his answers. I hope you enjoy!

More Episode Notes: https://mountainandprairie.com/peter-heller/

Instagram Book Giveaway: https://www.instagram.com/mtnprairie/

Bimonthly Book Recommendations Email: http://mountainandprairie.com/reading/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

5:00 - Where Peter grew up
6:30 - Deciding to be a writer at 11-years old
10:00 - Specific disciplines to become a writer
10:40 - Peter's parents' backgrounds and their influence
13:30 - Peter's love of writing as a career
14:50 - Childhood adventures
15:40 - Falling in love with the West
18:30 - Starting out as a writer
21:00 - Dealing with early rejections
22:50 - First published story
25:00 - "Not thinking" while writing fiction
29:00 - Starting Dog Stars
31:30 - Peter's method - 1,000 words per day
36:00 - The inevitability of Peter's stories
38:30 - Winslow Homer paintings and other real-life influences [Click to see "The Gulf Stream" painting]
41:45 - Importance of confidence and craftsmanship in writing
46:50 - Importance of momentum
49:00 - Love of entering "the zone" through writing, surfing, fishing, and more.
51:30 - Peter's love for Paonia
55:00 - Surfing!
1:02:15 - Favorite books
1:04:00 - Favorite location in the West
1:05:45 - Best advice ever received

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ABOUT MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE:

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everybody is Ed happy new year I've got two quick announcements first and most importantly I want to thank two brand new podcast supporters
0:08.1	Reagan niece and Sebastian Sokinos both Reagan and Sebastian signed up to support the podcast via Patreon,
0:16.0	so you can go to Mountain and Pray.com slash support
0:19.0	if you want to learn more about those options.
0:21.0	Second, every other month I send out an email with a few
0:25.4	books that I've recently read and highly recommend. I started this list about
0:30.0	four years ago by sending it out to about 30 people I knew and the list has just grown and grown and
0:36.4	grown is crazy but I'll be sending out my latest email on December 31st
0:42.0	so if you want to sign up go to mountain and prey. email on December 31st.
0:42.7	So if you want to sign up, go to Mountain and Pray.com
0:45.2	slash reading or just follow the link in the episode notes.
0:49.4	If you sign up after the 31st, once you do, you get a confirmation email and it'll have links to every single book that I've recommended over the past four years.
0:59.0	Sign up if you feel like it. And it probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. I don't
1:04.3	send out any spam, any sales pitches, or any other typical internet funny business.
1:10.0	It's just one email, every other month, full of good good books and I think you'll enjoy it.
1:15.0	That's it for now. Hope 2020 gets off to a great start. Hey, this is Ed Roberson, and this is the Mountain and Prairie Podcast, where I introduce you to some of the innovative
1:34.0	individuals who are shaping the future of the American West.
1:37.6	I meet most of these people through my work in land conservation, or through my hobbies and
1:41.6	interests that revolve around spending time up high in the mountains.
1:45.0	My guests include ranchers, writers, entrepreneurs, conservationists, athletes, artists, adventurers,
1:51.0	pretty much anyone who's doing important work has an interesting story and loves the
1:55.2	American West.
	...

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