Tag: art

Episode 290: ‘Only in Oregon’: How Drawing Political Cartoons is All About the Writing with Jesse Springer

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By Brendan O’Meara

This week, Jesse Springer, an Oregon-based political cartoonist and graphic designer, comes on the show to talk about his new book of cartoons Only in Oregon 1996-2021: 26 Years of Oregon Political Cartoons.

He came by the studio and brought his own very good microphone, so the two of us got to make eye contact. What a concept!

Sure, this is a very specific book that will have appeal largely — if not only — for Oregonians, but we do riff on whether or not political cartoons are journalism, his creative process for working through ideas, getting people to have better “art self esteem,” and a lot more.

The show has a new Instagram handle, @creativenonfictionpodcast, and you can always keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod.

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my Up-to-11 Newsletter. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. I just paid out the writers from the last audio magazine. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

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Episode 247: Jason Naylor, In Living Color

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By Brendan O’Meara

How’s this for a pull quote from Jason Naylor (@jasonnaylor on Instagram):

How do you find your style? How do you find your voice. And the truth is, I think that you don’t find it until you stop trying to find it. You just make work. If you’re a writer, you just keep writing. If you draw, then you just keep drawing, and the more you do it, you start to see patterns, you start to see a rhythm in what you’re doing. And then one day you look back and you realize, ‘Oh, I actually I can see that I have a voice.’

How brilliant is that?

Continue reading “Episode 247: Jason Naylor, In Living Color”

Episode 236: Michael Leviton on Quantity Over Quality, Play, and His New Book ‘To Be Honest’

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By Brendan O’Meara

“Writing a book could be very tedious, but I’m writing to make myself laugh or cry. If I’m not crying or laughing, I’m so bored. When I’m telling a story, I’m laughing or crying. Most of the time, that’s what I’m doing it for. If I’m not thrilled by something, I can’t do it. It becomes tedious and I quit,” says Michael Leviton, author of the memoir To Be Honest (Abrams Press).

He is @michaelleviton on Instagram. A great follow.

Continue reading “Episode 236: Michael Leviton on Quantity Over Quality, Play, and His New Book ‘To Be Honest’”

Episode 221: Power Couple Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham Bring You ‘The Gay Agenda’

Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham

By Brendan O’Meara

Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham are the creative, queer and trans power couple behind the incredible and beautiful book The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History and Handbook (Morrow Gift, 2020).

You can follow them and their stationery story at ashandchess.com and follow them on Instagram @ashandchess.

We dig into where they grew up, how they met, the “so 2018” way their book came to be, and much, much more.

Keep the conversation going on social @CNFPod and consider sharing the show across your networks. If you tag the show, I’ll be sure to give you some love, most likely in the form of a James Hetfield GIF. Also consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. It would give me and the show a great boost.

Ash and Chess’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse*

Amateur: A Reckoning with Gender, Identity, and Masculinity by Thomas Page McBee
The Twits by Roald Dahl
The Hike by Drew Magary
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
The Fireside Book of Children’s Songs
*: These are not affiliate links. Brendan does not get a commission based on book sales, though he acknowledges this is probably really stupid not to.

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Episode 209: The Evolution of Beth Roars

Beth Compson Bradford
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This episode is sponsored by Scrivener, by writers for writers.

Beth Compson Bradford, better known as Beth Roars, comes on the podcast because she embodies the new way creatives need to be creative to make a living.

She’s a vocal coach and performer, but she’s best know for her YouTube channel where she reacts to various vocal performances. Like this one:

Be sure to keep the conversation going on Instagram, all @creativenonfictionpodcast.

Things Beth and I talk about:

  • Self-doubt
  • Taking tiny steps
  • Giving up on her dreams

Subscribing to my monthly newsletter gets you reading recommendations, podcast news, and enters you into raffles for free books. Sign up below, friend.

Episode 169: Chase Jarvis — Discover Your Creative Calling

Chase Jarvis, author of Creative Calling.
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By Brendan O’Meara

Can you believe it? Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis) is here! He’s here to talk about his incredible new book Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Life + Work.

I can’t recommend it enough. Do yourself and a friend a favor and buy this book. You might want to listen and subscribe to his great podcast too, Chase Jarvis Live Show. He’s been doing this for ten+ years. Amazing stuff.

He made his bones as a photographer and might be most known for (these days) for founding Creative Live, the great online learning platform. I’ve purchased several classes that have helped me immensely.

As always, keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod, Instagram @cnfpod, and Facebook @CNFPodcast. Sign up for the monthly newsletters where I share reading recommendations and what you might have missed from the world of the podcast.

And if you’re feeling froggy, leave a kind review on Apple Podcast. We’re knocking on the door of 100. It’s a long knock, but we’re getting there. Let’s do this!

You’re going to love how Chase went about writing this book as we break open the pinata of what makes this book — and Chase — so special.

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Win the Hour, Win the Day

By Brendan O’Meara

It’s so easy to get swamped and say that the book project is too big, or I have too much weight to lose, and then you end up sitting around doing nothing and feeling lousy.

The scope is too big.

But what if you broke down what it would mean to have a successful 60 minutes? What if you attacked each hour of the day with focus and rigor?

You know the old sports cliches of take it one game at a time. Well, what if you took it one hour at a time? Do the tasks that will give you great satisfaction in this hour.

Regroup. Reload. And get after the next hour. You win that hour. You start stacking up those hours. And those hours become a day. And those days become weeks.

Win micro to win macro.

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Be Ready For Luck

By Brendan O’Meara

Breaking Bad had a niche audience through four seasons. It was a hyper-serialized show, perfect for binge watching…except binge watching wasn’t exactly a thing back in 2010, even 2011.

The show was critically acclaimed and doing its thing.

Then all four seasons were dumped on Netflix, which was starting to stream entire seasons of shows.

The Breaking Bad was “discovered,” and it blew up. It had one of the great final seasons and an audience hungry for what would happen.

The creators of the show could not have known that binge watching would be a thing. Breaking Bad happened to be perfectly suited for it when Netflix started streaming.

As good as Breaking Bad was, it needed luck to blast it out of the stratosphere.

But they weren’t waiting to make a good show as Netflix came along. They did the work, great work, and were ready for when the Netflix lightning strike came.

Point being, you need to be doing your thing and maybe, maybe, maybe, you’ll get lucky. But don’t expect it. Use obscurity to get great at your craft and when you’re good, maybe luck will be on your side and you’ll be ready for it.

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Cutting Some Slack

By Brendan O’Meara

I skipped two days of this daily pod-blog thing.

I doubt the world was up in arms, but I’m mildly disappointed in myself because I said I’d do it every day for 100 days in a row.

But the weather was nice and I didn’t feel like being on a computer this weekend.

The world will very much keep on spinning on the days we don’t show up.

The problem becomes if we make a habit of not showing up.

That, my friend, is not an option.

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Episode 151: Jenny Odell—How to Do Nothing

Jenny Odell, bird noticer, artists, author of How to Do Nothing

By Brendan O’Meara

“Find the something else that is so absorbing to you. That is a place you can go to get away from this.” —Jenny Odell

“You can’t write for everyone. And if you did, it wouldn’t be good.” —Jenny Odell

“Sitting there is a reminder of how different a physical space is with how we consume information online.” —Jenny Odell

Welcome, friend, to CNF, the creative nonfiction podcast where I speak to badass writers, filmmakers, radio producers, and podcasters about the art and craft of telling true stories.

Today’s guest is a special one in Jenny Odell (@the_jennitaur). She’s the author of How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. It’s an excellent read and, dare I say, an important read for these digital times we live in.

The book stemmed from this talk she gave, which makes me think: maybe the way to a book deal is come up with a great talk? Side note: It’s amazing how Jenny stood in the same spot for this entire talk. I’m definitely a walker.

Anyway…

Be sure to subscribe to CNF wherever you get your podcasts. And, if you’re feeling kind, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you leave a review, take a screenshot and send it to me. I’ll edit/coach up a piece of your writing of up to 2,000 words. The one thing we know about reviews is that they help with the packaging of a podcast. More reviews = more validation for newcomers.

So Jenny was amazing. We talk about birds, Austin Kleon, and how best reclaim your attention from social media companies that are hell bend on ensuring you keep scrolling.

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