By Brendan O’Meara
Did you know it’s Dinovember? Not die as in death, but dino as in dinosaurs, which is how and why today’s guest is Sam Chiarelli (@DinophileSam on Twitter), author of the memoir Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey, published by Hippocampus Books.
Continue reading “Episode 127—Sam Chiarelli ‘Digs’ Deep with Dino Memoir”
By Brendan O’Meara
“What I’m doing when I’m not working is thinking.” —Natalie Singer (@Natalie_Writes)
Hey, this is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about the craft of telling true stories. Today I welcome Natalie Singer, author of California Calling: A Self Interrogation to the show.
We talk about confidence, or the lack thereof, books as mentors, and day jobs and feeling shame for day jobs. I hope to change that perception over the next six million episodes, but shame is real, man, it is real. This brought up the great story about Andre Dubus III and how he wrote his famous book in 17-minute spurts.
Well, are you subscribed to the show? You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and just about anywhere else you get your pods. If you like this episode, tell one friend. Hand the show off like a baton and let them run with it. I’d love to see the show grow. For a small show, we get some big headliners. I’d love to keep that going. The headliners bring more ears so that we little people can get some attention we might not otherwise get. It’s getting there. We march on.
Got a newsletter you should consider subscribing to. I give out reading recommendations, but I’m also thinking of sprinkling in some other cool stuff I’ve stumbled on over the past month in the vein of Austin Kleon’s newsletter. I love his newsletter. I’m gonna Steal Like an Artist. See what I did there?
Okay, this is my conversation with Natalie Singer…
Thanks to our sponsors: Goucher College’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Creative Nonfiction Magazine.
So, the show is @CNFPod on Twitter and I’m @BrendanOMeara on Twitter. I don’t know. Following either of those two would be pretty rad. The show is on Facebook too if you’re into that.
You doing the newsletter thing? Subscribe here at the website. And if you like the show, share it with a friend, just one friend. The pod needs to keep on growing. Otherwise, what are we doing? Otherwise people won’t want to come on the show. They’ll be like, you’re not worth my time and I’ll be like, “Man, that hurts, Mom.” So please share it with a friend and subscribe if you haven’t.
By Brendan O’Meara
“The possibilities of doing something similar [to fiction] in nonfiction really did appeal to me.” —Tracy Kidder
“I don’t look for subjects. I look for people.” —Tracy Kidder
Are you riffin’ kiddin’ me!?
By virtue of today’s guest I’m assuming there might be a new CNFer or two to our little marauding gang of turbulent souls in this corner of the Internet.
Welcome. We play heavy metal music, we kick maximum ass, and we will, we will rock you. This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast (subscribe!), the show where I speak to bad ass tellers of true stories about where they came from, what and who inspires them, and how they approach the work, so that you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work. I’m your mutha-riffin’ host Brendan O’Meara, hey, hey.
Continue reading “Episode 122—Tracy Kidder on Writing Badly and Looking for People Over Subjects”
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.
Continue reading “Episode 121—Susan Orlean on Pacing, Structure, and ‘The Library Book’”
By Brendan O’Meara
“Fame does not equal success, and success does not equal fame.” —Allison K. Williams
“Every project I do has made me more fit and better to do my next project.” —Allison K. Williams
It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the very best in the genre of telling true stories, how they got to where they are and the tools, tips, and tricks that make them so good at what they do. I’m your host Brendan O’Meara.
Today’s guest is none other than Allison K. Williams. She’s @GuerillaMemoir on Twitter and you can visit her website at idowords.com.
Continue reading “Episode 119—The Multi-Hyphenated Allison K. Williams”
By Brendan O’Meara
“The great thing is if you find the right story it often is more interesting than fiction because it’s weird and quirky.” —Matthew Polly (@MatthewEPolly)
This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best in narrative journalism, doc film, radio, podcasting, essay, and memoir about the art and craft of telling true stories.
Today’s guest is Matthew Polly. He’s the author of three books of nonfiction, most recently Bruce Lee: A Life. He’s a graduate of Princeton and a Rhodes Scholar, so you can say my 1050 SAT score didn’t exactly level me up any in this conversation.
Continue reading “Episode 114—Matthew Polly on Bruce Lee, Shaolin Temples, and Video Games”
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetables from Jennifer Goforth Gregory (@ByJenGregory)
“The persistence is the difference.”
“If you don’t follow up, you’re leaving money on the table.”
“We’re not each other’s competition; we’re each other’s colleagues.”
Well, well, well, look what your subscription dragged in. Another episode of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best in narrative journalism, doc film, radio, essay, and memoir about the art and craft of telling true stories so you can better at your own work.
You are subscribed, right? Head over to iTunes/Apple Podcasts and lay it down. We’re also on Spotify! Yeah, that’s right. The whole catalog is over there streaming if that’s your thing. Please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts because that’s how we prove to the newcomers that we’re doing something special over here at CNF Pod HQ.
Continue reading “Episode 113—Jennifer Goforth Gregory: Your Ticket to Earning Six Figures”
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetable by Paul Willetts:
“Revision as you go along can be tremendously destructive of what you’re doing.”
I’ve had quite a run of late of guests from the other side of the pond as it were. Today is no different as I welcome Paul Willetts to the show.
Paul is very smart and he loves the work. He is the author of several books of nonfiction, most recently King Con: the Bizarre Adventures of the Jazz Age’s Greatest Imposter.
Continue reading “Episode 112—Paul Willetts Slays ‘King Con’”
By Brendan O’Meara
“Working outside of journalism before working in journalism can be a useful thing in terms of seeing how the world works.” —Katie Baker (@katiebakes)
Hey there, CNFers, it’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about telling true stories, whether that’s narrative journalists, documentary filmmakers, essay and memoir writers and radio producers, I try unpack their lives and their work so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetables by Jonathan Green (@JonathanJAGreen):
“It was always the story behind the headlines I found more intriguing.”
This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about telling true stories where we dig into origins, work habits and process so you can be a better a better storyteller. Continue reading “Episode 105—From Factories to the Front Pages with Jonathan Green”