podcast – Page 18 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 247: Jason Naylor, In Living Color

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?

Episode 246: Jenni Gritters on the Freelance Life, Not Waiting for Perfect, and Sh*t Sandwiches

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By Brendan O’Meara

Jenni Gritters is here.

She’s a freelancer and she is not a struggling freelancer in the ways that many of us identify as a struggling freelancer, which is to say: we po’.

Jenni, @jenni_gritters, along with her co-pilot on The Writers’ Co-op Podcast Wudan Yan, are thriving. Through strategy and rigor, Jenni is a six-figure earner, this during the pandemic, this when many writers are struggling to make a go of it.

She turned her skill into money, which allows her to double down on her skill and do more projects that are more personal-driven.

I like to think of some content/branded writing gigs like when Jake Gyllenhaall does a blockbuster movie so that he can then do the art-house stuff he probably wants to do. Book your Marvel movie, then go write your memoir. Haha.

Episode 245: Phil Hoad and his Atavist Story ‘Cat and Mouse’

Phil Hoad

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By Brendan O’Meara

Phil Hoad (@phload) is a journalist based in the south of France and his latest piece is featured in The Atavist. It’s titled “Cat and Mouse.”

It tells the story of two animal rights activists and their drive to find who they think is a serial killer of cats, rabbits, and foxes, but mainly cats.

In this bonus episode, I speak with lead editor Jonah Ogles (@jonahogles) about Phil’s pitch, what makes certain pitches have legs while others don’t, and the importance of figuring out how to end things. It’s much like when I spoke with Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby.

Then Phil unpacks the story from there.

Episode 243: Claire McNear of The Ringer Talks All Things Writing, Jeopardy!, and the Late Great Alex Trebek

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By Brendan OMeara

Claire McNear is a staff writer for The Ringer and the author of Answers in the Form of Questions (Twelve).

“The times that I write best, the times that I’m able to write a lot are the times that I’ve got a fire under me. And that is what happens with a deadline. That is what happens when it’s 10 p.m. and you’ve written like, 150 words that day,” Claire says on the podcast.

Episode 242: ‘How Are You Going to Change the World?’ asks Damon Brown

View on Zencastr

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By Brendan O’Meara

Damon Brown returns!

Had a great time talking about his new book Build from Now: Know Your Power, See Your Abundance and Change the World.

Damon’s all over the place. He’s talkin’ TED, he’s coaching, he’s almost written thirty books, he’s the primary caretaker of his two young boys, all of that and he’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. I think you’ll agree.

Episode 239: Alexandra DiPalma Leads the Podcast Workshop

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By Brendan O’Meara

So excited to have the one and only Alexandra DiPalma back on the show to talk all things podcasting.

She leads the Podcast Workshop, a part of Akimbo Workshops, and in it you’ll learn what it means to find your voice and develop skills that will translate to other areas of your life and career.

If you follow this link ===> THIS ONE <=== you’ll get pretty slick discount. I’m not sure when it expires, but check it out.

Episode 238: Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale Zappia Rock Out with ‘Rez Metal’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale Zappia (@natzappia) wrote a killer little book based on a killer documentary called Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene (University of Nebraska Press).

I mean, you know I was into this, right, CNFers?

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.

Call for submissions! SUMMER: CLOSED!

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Dear CNFers,

Issue 2 of the CNF Pod audio magazine is coming down the pipe. The theme is summer.

I want your best essays about summer. Summer jobs. Summer flings. Summer breeze. Summer, summer, summer time!

We come of age in summer and I want your best essays of what those precious summer months mean to you.

Word limit: Up to 2,000 words. This is about a 15-minute read. Only submit written pieces.

Deadline: March 21, 2021.

Submit to creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com with SUMMER in the subject line.

Issue 2 will be exclusive to Patreon members, so for as little as $4 a month you’ll get access to the the magazine, as well as some other goodies.

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Episode 233: Lee Gutkind on Magical Moments, the Rope Test, and ‘My Last Eight Thousand Days’

Lee Gutkind, Brendan O'Meara — Lee Gutkind

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By Brendan O’Meara

Lee Gutkind (@LeeGutkind) has returned to the show after a long, long time, this time to talk about his wonderful new book My Last Eight Thousand Days: An American Male in His Seventies (University of Georgia Press).

We talk about a lot of stuff, like voice. Lee says: