“This is not something that comes overnight. It’s a long, arduous road,” says Mark Kram Jr.
Mark Kram Jr., author of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier, joined me for a great conversation about his early career and the struggles he overcame.
He learned on the job, more or less. He said he was a late bloomer (Something I can attest to. Still waitin’ on my bloom.)
Mark has won the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing and has been anthologized The Best American Sports Writing six times.
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“I think that very often when anybody is writing a book, they lose track of the fact that the book can be whatever you want.” —Chuck Klosterman
“Nonfiction is closer to bowling. It can be perfect.” —Chuck Klosterman
Hey, CNFers, look who came over to CNF Pod HQ! It’s Chuck Klosterman, one my favorite authors for how he’s able to turn a phrase, dollop profanity, and be the mind I wish I had.
Chuck’s latest book is Raised in Captivity: Fictional Nonfiction, and we take a dive into what makes this collection of short stories — his first collection of short stories of his eleven books.
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I hope you have as much fun listening to this as I did conducting the interview and later editing it for production.
We had a nice time talking about journaling, competition, jealousy, and finding the page as a safe place.
As always, keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and let me know what you thought of this episode. Share it across your social media profiles and me sure to tag the show so I can jump in the fire with you.
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“There’s always gonna be people who are better than you, and there’s also people who’re gonna be worse than you, but that can’t be the reason you write or don’t write.” — Naomi Gordon-Loebl (@naomigloebl)
Hey, CNFers, welcome to this installment featuring Naomi Gordon-Loebl, an essayist and journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Hazlitt, and more.
She grew up in a communal household in Brooklyn, has a twin sister, won the parent lottery, and is finding her footing as a writer passionate about LGBT issues, but it was her NYT essay on getting the “yips” that made me reach out.
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We talk about how important music is to him and the shape of his weeks when he’s pitching vs. when he’s writing. Be sure to check out his work at his Contently site.
Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts. Consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. If you do, I’ll coach up a piece of your writing up to 2,000 words. Leave a review, wait for it to publish, take a screenshot, send it to me, then I’ll reach back out!
Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and Instagram @cnfpod. Facebook is @CNFPodcast. What fun!
Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get our podcasts. If you leave a review of the show, I’ll coach up a piece of your writing of up to 2,000 words. Write the review, take a screenshot when it posts, email me the screenshot, and I’ll reach back out and get going.
“The more you can immerse yourself in a story the better you can write about it.” —Julian Smith (@julianwrites)
“You gotta fall in love with your subject and sometimes people have to pull you out.” —Julian Smith (juliansmith.com)
Julian Smith is a freelance journalist covering science, conservation, and adventure for publications like Smithsonian, Wired, Outside, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Traveler, and The Washington Post.
He co-authored Aloha Rodeo with David Wolman, a fellow journalist he worked with before on this Epic Magazinepiece about two warring ice cream trucks. It’s…epic.
Amanda Petrusich is on the main stage for Episode 153.
By Brendan O’Meara
“The work itself, the process has to sustain you.” —Amanda Petrusich (@amandapetrusich Twitter)
“It’s like wet jeans, that’s the feeling of generating a bunch of crappy writing.”—Amanda Petrusich (@amandapetrusich IG)
Amanda Petrusich, staff writer for The New Yorker, joined me for a spirited conversation about her approach to writing criticism and the grind she endured to get where she’s at.
It was this great piece she wrote on Metallica that made me want to reach out to her. The way to this man’s heart is through Metallica.
His historical novel, Cape Fear Rising, is celebrating its 25th anniversary, so we dive into that as well. It is published by Blair.
Philip is also an accomplished musician and recorded this song and video as a trailer for The Last Battleground. Check it out:
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“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.
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.
