Adam Skolnick, author of 'American Tiger' - Podcaster and novelist discusses creative burnout, ghostwriting, and different drafts for different characters

Adam Skolnick earned his writing chops as a travel and adventure sports journalist for the New York Times, ESPN, the BBC and Lonely Planet. It taught him the vital skills of getting the words out immediately, and writing fast. He was the ghostwriter for David Goggins' memoirs 'Can't Hurt Me' and 'Never Finished'. Also published 'One Breath', about the world of free-diving, which was turned into a Netflix documentary, and 'Forever Swim', about open-water swimming legend Antonio Arguelles. Adam also appears in Rich Roll's fantastic podcast, discussing health and wellbeing. His new novel is 'American Tiger', about Bell Tern who, when on the school bus, sports a tiger roaming around the streets of suburban Los Angeles. It's rooted in the stunning southern Californian landscape and stacked with vivid characters. We discusses his attempts to 'de-sacredise' his space and day, also the different passes he does for each individual character, and what an idea needs to be to get him excited. You can hear about his new cue-card process, how the idea came during a free-diving competition, and how he deals with the fine line between creative burnout and being productive. This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription. Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.com/shop/writersroutine @writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Adam Skolnick, author of 'American Tiger' - Podcaster and novelist discusses creative burnout, ghostwriting, and different drafts for different characters online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Adam Skolnick, author of 'American Tiger' - Podcaster and novelist discusses creative burnout, ghostwriting, and different drafts for different characters is an episode from Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson.

This episode is 51:16 long.

This episode was published on Dec 19, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Writer's Routine when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.