My College Diary by Tao Lin
August 5, 2025 – “I’m worried about what will happen when I’m done with this novel. Will I try to hang out more? But with who? The novel is my life now.”
writing
Cultivating Emotional Curiosity
Below the main essay, I've added a couple sections for what I've written lately and what I've been reading lately, since I assume readers of this newsletter are interested in my fiction and perhaps also in my exquisite taste. Please don't challenge this assumption, it's load-bearing.
To be a writer
Eavesdrop relentlessly, steal glances at outfits and actions, the way they stand and talk with their hands, how they react to someone invading their personal space, and, this is the crucial step, ask yourself why they do all of these things. Develop theories. Even if you’re wrong, you might be right. One exercise I like to do while I walk around town or stare at the people on the sidewalk below my apartment’s window is to look at someone and ask myself who I would have to be in order to love them.