Writing about serial killers may not be sexy but it pays the bills, reporter and writer Erik Larson told about ninety attendees in Fisk 111 on Monday. The talk was to discuss his most popular work, The Devil in the White City, about an architect and a murderer who are both at the peak of their powers during the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Larson detailed his writing process and his evolution as a writer.

Larson admitted that he understood how boring book talks can be, saying he “would rather have a vasectomy without anesthetic than listen to another author read a passage from their own book.” He kept the audience entertained with his witticisms while ruminating on the process of creating compelling historical nonfiction.

Devil in the White City is a dual narrative following the architect of the Chicago World’s Fair, Daniel Burnham, and serial killer H. H. Holmes. Although much of Holmes’ lore had been lost in popular history — he created a “murder castle” where he listened to people as asphyixated them — but he was often mentioned in the context of the fair. In the same way, Larson says, “the fair was often mentioned in passing when talking about Holmes.”

Larson admitted that, in shaping his book, the story did not unfold the way he expected. The seemingly easier narrative to construct, that of Holmes, was much more difficult to write. Larson eventually came to the conclusion that, “the unfolding creepiness was what would drive the narrative.” He said that the, “architecture side of it [the story] was actually a much more traditional narrative.

The ultimate goal of writing, according to Larson, is for someone to be able to “sink into the past and not emerge until the end.” For getting rid of writers’ block and gaining inspiration, he told the audience that much of it is just luck, but that you “can put yourself in the way of luck.”

As his time wrapped up—the room had a class at 1 o’clock—he gave the audience his advice to writing:

“Don’t binge write,” Larson said. “The tough part of writing is sitting down and doing it every day.”