# Jillian Hess - Note-Taking Lessons From America’s Greatest Biographer (Highlights)  ## Metadata **Review**:: [readwise.io](https://readwise.io/bookreview/32654979) **Source**:: #from/readwise #from/reader **Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting **Status**:: #x **Authors**:: [[Jillian Hess]] **Full Title**:: Note-Taking Lessons From America’s Greatest Biographer **Category**:: #articles #readwise/articles **Category Icon**:: 📰 **Highlighted**:: [[2023-09-29]] **Created**:: [[2023-10-06]] ## Highlights - Before he kicks off his original reporting for a book, he first reads every piece of secondary material on his subject (and time period) he can get his hands on, from other seminal books on them to national and magazine stories from the time, followed by small-town newspaper articles. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsdthh5hhw8gwx3pgndn27)) ^602598693 In the case of his Johnson series, Caro has dug into the government documentation not just of his main subject, but of every president Johnson dealt with, from Roosevelt to Eisenhower. - He understood the psychological process of getting people to open up and would cross-reference his conversations, bringing up details one person said to another to help jog their memory or coax details out of them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsk77vbzfxxn2645ptdwee)) ^602599211 keyword: cross-reference - He works in an atomic fashion, first summarizing the point of his book into 1-3 paragraphs. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsmpvb3q7wekvktnd6hz5q)) ^602599474 - He then creates a macro outline for the book, and separate individual outlines for each chapter, which function as “ [the chapter in brief](https://every.to/emails/click/50f38484e58aee7dc857d867a9e82bd914e93deffd75cc9636c234c952ee2126/eyJzdWJqZWN0IjoiTm90ZS10YWtpbmcgTGVzc29ucyBGcm9tIEFtZXJpY2HigJlzIEdyZWF0ZXN0IEJpb2dyYXBoZXIgIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6MjgwMCwicG9zdF90eXBlIjoicG9zdCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXBhcmlzcmV2aWV3Lm9yZy9pbnRlcnZpZXdzLzY0NDIvdGhlLWFydC1vZi1iaW9ncmFwaHktbm8tNS1yb2JlcnQtY2FybyIsInBvc2l0aW9uIjoxOH0=) , without any of the supportive evidence.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsnw1e120skgj1z25p9hks)) ^602599670 - Each chapter also gets assigned a notebook that holds all the details from his interviews and research—the supporting documentation. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsnrstj8tea89enjkz13fz)) ^602599667 - Once he gets to writing, Caro aims for 1,000 words a day. Sometimes he exceeds his goal. Sometimes he falls short. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgss3ces2kez6qwp7xs4eys)) ^602599803 - For every day that he writes zero words, he documents a reason such as his son (“Chase”); travel (“Italy”); or just plain fatigue (“lazy”). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgssbnbsvt66qjwtrzeep43)) ^602599812 - Even with his ambitious working schedule, Caro reserves Sunday for rest. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgssd6vwy8shd1np1rfjxfc)) ^602599814 - Once Caro has an entire draft, he creates lengthy to-do lists for himself. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgswaq9q46deqa1na78tnxf)) ^602599904 - “He’s desperate, right?...I wanted to show his desperation,” Caro [explained](https://every.to/emails/click/50f38484e58aee7dc857d867a9e82bd914e93deffd75cc9636c234c952ee2126/eyJzdWJqZWN0IjoiTm90ZS10YWtpbmcgTGVzc29ucyBGcm9tIEFtZXJpY2HigJlzIEdyZWF0ZXN0IEJpb2dyYXBoZXIgIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6MjgwMCwicG9zdF90eXBlIjoicG9zdCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXBhcmlzcmV2aWV3Lm9yZy9pbnRlcnZpZXdzLzY0NDIvdGhlLWFydC1vZi1iaW9ncmFwaHktbm8tNS1yb2JlcnQtY2FybyIsInBvc2l0aW9uIjoyN30=) to the *Paris Review* . “I thought, ‘You have the scenes, but it’s your job to make the reader feel [it]. How do you do that?’” That goal was his north star while writing that chapter, so he left the reminder somewhere he’d see it regularly. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hbgsz92sv7t1vr10z40f0vee)) ^602600196