By Brendan O’Meara
“I’m always learning about structure. Always.” —Susan Orlean (@susanorlean)
Oh, hey, welcome to the show, CNFers, and, my, my, my are you in for a treat. Susan Orlean, @susanorlean on Twitter, a New Yorker staff writer and the best selling author of The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin, and now her latest book, The Library Book (Simon & Schuster, 2018), is out now. And it’s everything you’d expect from her work.
But before we get to that, maybe you’re new to the show. Let me tell you what me and the voices in my head are up to here. This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast (subscribe???), the show where I speak to great artists about the craft of telling true stories: Leaders in narrative journalism, memoir, documentary film, essay, radio, and podcasting stop by so we can talk about their creative path and how they go about the work so you can apply those tips, tricks, and routines to your own work. I’m your host, Brendan O’Meara, hey, hey.
Amidst my at-times physically grueling temp job, I somehow managed to file a feature and let me tell you. It was sheer garbage. It was a thin profile that I somehow squeezed 3,000 words out of. I hate turning in work that I’m not proud of, but sometimes that happens. It was a struggle. Often I rely on my central figure to provide me with more people to talk to. My central figure, in this case, was incredibly elusive and once I finally was able to speak to them, I had, quite literally, no time to chase down other sources to make this profile really pop. It’s basically a two-source profile and I don’t need to tell you that that is garbage. I filed it and moved on. I suggest you do the same.
ANYWAY…
Susan Orlean, susanorlean.com, came back to the show. I recommend listening to both her shows. Episode 61 talks a lot about her origin story as a writer and running your show like a business. This time around for Episode 121, she dives into her methods of structure and what her latest book—a book she never thought she’d write—is all about.
Thanks to Goucher College’s MFA in Nonfiction for the sponsorship and to Creative Nonfiction magazine for the promotional support. Y’all complete me.
Be sure to give me a fist bump over on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. YOu can like the FAcebook page too if that’s where you spend your time. And if you have questions, feel free to reach out. Also, if you dig the show, consider sharing it with a friend or even write a short review over on iTunes/Apple Podcasts.
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