Chase Jarvis shares some wisdom about creating without judgement, from his excellent book, Creative Calling.
Let me know what you think! Twitter @CNFPod.
Create without Judgement with Chase Jarvis
Category: Writing
Episode 170: Leslie Jamison — Make It Scream, Make It Burn, and the Bounded Infinity of Nonfiction
“Essays took on this energy for me in part because they’re unofficial and in part because they brought me in contact with the world that felt really generative.” — Leslie Jamison (@lsjamison on Twitter)
Always nice when you can have straight-up badasses like Leslie Jamison on the show. I’ve spoken with some great essayists on the podcast, like Elena Passarello, Elizabeth Rush, Natalie Singer, among others.
In this episode we riff on how she had to let language to the work for her and not let the language be this shiny veneer without substance, the bounded infinity of nonfiction, and much, much more.
Her new book is Make It Scream, Make It Burn (Little, Brown, 2019) and it’s a joy to read. Leslie is also the bestselling author of The Empathy Exams, The Recovering and the novel The Gin Closet.
Keep the conversation going on Twitter by tagging me and the show @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Digital fistbumps for those who do it. I hope I’ve made something worth sharing with your people, so please link up to the show and encourage your CNFin’ buds to subscribe!
Episode 169: Chase Jarvis — Discover Your 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.
Episode 168: Rachel Dougherty — Nonfiction for Kids, Day Jobs, and Finding Confidence
“My writing life is being surrounded by 15 half-empty coffee cups which I keep dipping my paint brush into accidentally.” —Rachel Dougherty (@racheldoughertybooks)
I don’t have kids, but I love the idea of writing nonfiction books for kids. If that’s your jam, or a jam worth undertaking, then Rachel Dougherty is going to Blow. Your. Mind.
This was a fun episode where we talk about day jobs, confidence (or a lack thereof), finding time to do work that matters, and so much more.
Rachel is the author and illustrator of The Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge. She’s a Philadelphia-based illustrator, children’s author, and lifelong knowledge-hunter. She works in acrylic paint, ink, and pencil smudges, using humor and color to inspire curious young minds. Rachel is passionate about US history, scruffy little dogs, and board games. [I didn’t ask her about board games. I wish I had.]
Listen, social media is a lousy way to promote a podcast, but it’s a great place to keep the conversation going. I hope I’ve made something worth sharing, so let’s keep it up on Twitter @CNFPod, Instagram @cnfpod, and Facebook @CNFPodcast. Tag me and the show and I’ll jump in the fire.
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Episode 166: Kate Hopper—Slap the Bass
“Every piece of writing is going to be hard in some way, and you just have to know that, and sit with it and keep going forward, and you will have a breakthrough at some point if you don’t give up.” —Kate Hopper
By Brendan O’Meara
Hey, there, CNFers, Kate Hopper (@MNKateHopper) joins me to talk about her True Story essay “Stumbling into Joy.” In case you couldn’t tell from the title of this episode, she learns to play the bass guitar in her forties. It’s pretty rad.
Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts. We’re on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. It is always my hope that I’ve made something worth sharing, so if you like this, please pass it along to the people you think would benefit from it. You are the social network.
As always, keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and Instagram @cnfpod. Also Facebook, so go like the page there. I respond to everything, so please tag the show on your preferred network and we’ll connect.
Thanks to Goucher’s MFA in Nonfiction, Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction, and River Teeth for the support.
Episode 165: Steven Kurutz—The Power of Libraries, Getting to New York, and ‘Fruitland’
By Brendan O’Meara
Welcome back, CNFers! The 301 Redirect is live so you should be getting that bump of CNF now in your feeds. Sorry about that missed week there. Things got broke. Acutally, things are still mildly broken with some older episodes. The podcast gremlins are on it.
Steven Kurutz is here. He’s a features writer for The New York Times, and it was his essay for Creative Nonfiction’s True Story, “Fruitland,” that made me want to reach out.
This was a fun one and I hope you dig it. If you do, please share it with your immediate network. That’s how I want this show to keep growing, not by interrupting people with Facebook ads, but by you deciding it has value and sharing it with your friends. Hand to hand. You’re the social network, man.
If you dig the show, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.
Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod. Let me know your thoughts. Podcast for your thoughts.
Episode 164: Donna Talarico—Literary Citizenship and Hippocamp 2019
“I like to joke that this [conference] is my investment in literary citizenship.” —Donna Talarico (@donnatalarico)
CNFers! There’s a coupon code IN THIS EPISODE for a massive discount on your last-minute registration for Hippocamp 2019! But you gotta listen.
Oh, hey, this is CNF, the show where I talk to badass people about the art and craft of telling true stories. Welcome.
I ask that if you dig the show, you share it with a few of your friends, link up to it on social, and tag the show @CNFPod on Twitter and @cnfpod on Instagram. We’re on Facebook too. I’ll jump in the fire with you.
If you’re feeling kind, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. We’re still on Mission 100 and we’re 28 away. There’s 28 of you out there, right? I sure hope so.
Big thanks to our patrons this week in Goucher College’s MFA in Nonfiction, Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction and Riverteeth, a journal for creative nonfiction.
Sign up for the newsletter. Once a month, no spam, can’t beat it. Anything else, CNFer? Enjoy the show!
Episode 161: Mark Kram Jr.—Letting the Dust Clear, Being a Late Bloomer, and Smokin’ Joe
“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.)
He also wrote Like Any Normal Day, and edited a book of his father’s best writing Great Men Die Twice.
Mark has won the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing and has been anthologized The Best American Sports Writing six times.
As always, if you dig the show, please share this across your social networks. Tag the show @CNFPod on Twitter and I’ll jump in the fire with you. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 157: Eric Ducker—’I Want This Weirder’
Want the transcript of Eric’s episode? PayPal $5 to brendan at brendanomeara dot com and I’ll send you the pdf!
“I want to hear more of you in this. I want this weirder. Let loose.” —Eric Ducker (@ericducker)
By Brendan O’Meara
Hey, CNFers! So Eric Ducker is here. He’s a freelance editor and writer. When he wrote this great piece on Jenny Odell, I reached out to him.
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!
Episode 156: Sonya Huber—Creative Infidelities
Want the transcript to this episode?! PayPal brendan at brendan omeara dot com $5 and I’ll send you the PDF!
“I think that’s why people stop writing: the not knowing what you’re doing feels so terrible.” —Sonya Huber (@sonyahuber)
Hey…hey, you, how are you?
Sonya Huber is here. She’s the author of these five books:
Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System
Opa Nobody
Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir
The “Backwards” Research Guide for Writers
The Evolution of Hillary Rodham Clinton
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.
Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod or Facebook or Instagram.