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Mary Karr’s Writing Tips

By Brendan O’Meara

So…this will be an ongoing blog post whereby I embed Mary Karr’s invaluable—and free!—writing advice. You usually have to drop $20 at a bookstore for this kind of stuff.

She’s somebody so wise and so forthcoming about the process and how many drafts it takes her to finish a poem.

Enjoy!

Writing tip #1: Jack up your verbs. Too many passive verbs (to be, have, make) flatten yr page like a steel wheel roller. Witness Lowell: ‘The night attendant, a BU sophomore/ROUSES from the mare’s nest of his drowsy head…He CATWALKS down our corridor.’ #AmWriting #writingLife

— Mary Karr, Author (@marykarrlit) October 18, 2018

Continue reading “Mary Karr’s Writing Tips”

Episode 125—Brin-Jonathan Butler Talks “The Grandmaster,” Obsession, Madness, and the Power of Being an Outsider

Brin-Jonathan Butler, Brendan O'Meara — Brin-Jonathan Butler sporting Cuban refugee Yasiel Puig’s No. 66.

By Brendan O’Meara

Brin-Jonathan Butler has the world record for appearances on The Creative Nonfiction Podcast at four times. In honor of that, here’s a riff in 4/4 time.

You an check out his past few trips when he talked about what his ego is tied to, all things Cuba, and the blessings of struggle.

His new book The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match that Made Chess Great Again is a masterpiece.

Episode 124—Natalie Singer on Finding the Time to Write and Living a Creative Life Around Day Jobs

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.

Episode 123—Elena Passarello on Listening to the Book, Polaroids, and Self-Doubt

Elena Passarello, author of “Animals Strike Curious Poses,” stopped by (literally) CNFPod HQ for Episode 123.

By Brendan O’Meara

Tweetables by Elena Passarello (@elenavox on Twitter):

“I loved going to the library and getting lost.”

“I wanted to dig deeper into the essay collection as the essay.”

Welcome wayward CNFers, it’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to bad ass writers, filmmakers, movers and shakers about the art and craft of telling true stories. Here you’ll learn the story, tips, and tactics that will inspire you to greater heights in your own own work. I’m your host Brendan O’Meara, hey, hey.

Episode 122—Tracy Kidder on Writing Badly and Looking for People Over Subjects

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.

Episode 121—Susan Orlean on Pacing, Structure, and ‘The Library Book’

Susan Orlean for Grub Street / New York Magazine

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.

Episode 120—Eli Saslow, the Pulitzer Prize Winner on Empathy, Muscling Through Drafts, and His Book ‘Rising Out of Hatred’

Eli Saslow, Pulitzer Prize winner, stopped by the show.

By Brendan O’Meara

[Pull Quotes TK]

Welcome to The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about the art and craft of telling true stories. Leaders from narrative journalism, doc film, memoir, essay, radio, and podcasting stop by to share their stories and how they go about the work so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.

Would you look at this guest for Episode 120L: Eli Saslow (@elisaslow), Pultizer Prize winner and fellow Oregonian, and author of Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, and staff writer for The Washington Post joined me for a wonderful conversation about his work.

Eli is one of the good ones. You can tell by talking to him that he’s an energy giver, you know what I mean? You talk to the guy and you want to go out and do your best work. I felt similarly when I spoke with Elizabeth Rush and Andre Dubus III.

Fact is, Eli’s work alone makes you want to go out and do good work because it’s top notch and major league. His latest book is a masterpiece so you need to go out and buy a copy for you and a pal. It is published by Doubleday.

You’re gonna learn a lot of great writing and reporting tips from your time spent listening to this episode.

Be sure to follow the show and me on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Why not sign up for my monthly newsletter? I give out reading recommendations. Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Go like the Facebook page too and consider leaving a nice review on Apple Podcasts.

Thanks to the show’s sponsors: Goucher College’s MFA for Nonfiction and for Creative Nonfiction Magazine.

Books by Eli Saslow

Ten Letters: Stories Americans Tell Their President

Episode 119—The Multi-Hyphenated Allison K. Williams

Allison K. Williams embodies the spirit of a true creative.

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.

Episode 118—Earl Swift on Routines, Proportionality, and the Secret to Being a Fly on the Wall

Earl Swift, everybody! Photo credit goes to Hyunsoo Leo Kim/The Virginian-Pilot.

By Brendan O’Meara

“It’s always been experience that the inspiration comes while you’re doing [the writing].” —Earl Swift

“The process of being a fly on the wall doesn’t rely on folks forgetting you’re a reporter.” —Earl Swift

Hey, CNFers, welcome back to another show.

This week’s guest is Earl Swift, author of seven books, with his latest being Chesapeake Requiem: A Year with the Waterman of Vanishing Tangier Island.

But before we get to that, maybe I should let you know what it is we do here at CNF HQ. This is the podcast where I speak to the best artists about the craft of telling true stories: origins, habits, routines, key influences, so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.

Episode 117—Steve Brusatte and The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

Steve Brusatte, author of “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs.”

By Brendan O’Meara

It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best about telling true stories. Leaders in narrative journalism, doc film, radio, podcasting, essay, and memoir stop by Digital CNFPod HQ to talk about how they go about the work so you can apply those tools of mastery—if you so choose—to your own work.

Today I present to you Steve Brusatte (@SteveBrusatte on Twitter), author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of the Lost World. The entirety of the book is brilliant but the way Steve talks about T-rexes and the Asteroid are some of the most compelling reading you’ll come across.

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.

Books by Eli Saslow