narrative – Page 19 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

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 164: Donna Talarico—Literary Citizenship and Hippocamp 2019

Donna Talarico, founder of Hippocampus Magazine and Hippocamp.

“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.

Episode 163: Fred Waitzkin — How Writing a Book is Like a Love Affair

“A great story for me is one that engages me emotionally. It’s like a love affair.” —Fred Waitzkin

“A great story can light up the page.” —Fred Waitzkin

“The joy of it is writing those paragraphs.” —Fred Waitzkin

This week’s episode of CNF, aka The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, features Fred Waitzkin, the author of several books including Searching for Bobby Fischer and his most recent novel Deep Water Blues.

Lots of tasty nuggets in this episode. Maybe what struck me most about it was his sheer love of writing as a craft, as an art. So we talk about that, how his mismatched parents taught him what he knows, how he must take a break after each book, and the how he cracked the code of Deep Water Blues by writing a screenplay, of all things.

Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and if you’re feeling generous, leave a kind review over on Apple Podcasts.

Keep the conversation on Twitter @CNFPod and consider sharing the show with the people in your circle. Tag the show and I’ll jump in the fire with you.

Episode 162: Seyward Darby — Editing as Collaboration at The Atavist

“Let me be your sounding board for how the piece should come together.” — Seyward Darby (@seywarddarby)

“Writing reminds you what it’s like to stare at a blank page and how hard it is to create a first draft,” Seyward Darby said on Episode 162 of the podcast.

She’s the executive editor of The Atavist Magazine, an online jam that produces one longform feature a month. It’s awesome. It’s on my bucket list as a place to have work published.

So many great nuggets in this episode specifically about pitching/querying. It’s another master class in what she finds strong. See episodes with Evan Ratliff and Ian Frisch. You gotta have a good fastball, baby.

Subscribe to the show wherever you get your pods. Spot. App. Goog. Stitch. We like one syllable.

Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod. Instagram is @cnfpod and Facebook is @CNFPodcast or The Creative Nonfiction Podcast. Go jump in. It’s fun. The water’s refreshing.

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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 160: Chuck Klosterman — ‘Raised in Captivity,’ Being Straightforward, and How Nonfiction is Closer to Bowling

Chuck Klosterman. Photo credit Jason Booher

“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.

Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod. Let me know what you think. Tweet out what you love. I’ll tweet back horns and skulls.

I hope you have as much fun listening to this as I did conducting the interview and later editing it for production.

Episode 159: Allie Rowbottom—The Page as Safe Place

By Brendan O’Meara

“Talent is not enough. You have to have luck. You have to have drive.” —Allie Rowbottom (@allierowbottom)

In this 159th episode of CNF, I welcome Allie Rowbottom, author of Jell-O Girls: A Family History.

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.

If you’re feeling kind, take a less than five minutes and leave a kind review or rating on Apple Podcasts. With your help, we can reach 100 of them.

Enjoy the show!

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 155: T.D. Thornton—Horses, Cons, Boxers, Oh, My!

“You can persevere and you can grind, but you have to get lucky at times.” —T.D. Thornton (@thorntontd on Twitter)

“You have to churn out some bad writing to get to good or excellent writing.” —T.D. Thornton

By Brendan O’Meara

T.D. Thornton is a journalist and author.

He wrote Not By a Long Shot: A Season at a Hard-Luck Horse Track and My Adventures with Your Money: George Graham Rice and the Golden Age of the Con Artist.

Consider buying one, or both.

This was a fun conversation and I hope you dig it, and I hope you share it across your networks. Maybe encourage your pals to subscribe.

Join me on Twitter @CNFPod and Instagram @cnfpod to keep the conversation going.

Episode 152: Philip Gerard—Fiction, Nonfiction, and the Writer’s Magical Combination

Philip Gerard returns to the show to talk about his latest book The Last Battleground.
Photo credit Alan Cradick

“For a writer, ignorance and curiosity are a magical combination.” —Philip Gerard

“I always tell my students if you can’t find it, you don’t have it.” —Philip Gerard

By Brendan O’Meara

Hey, CNFers, I’m thrilled to welcome back Philip Gerard. Philip joined me nearly 120 episodes ago and it’s great to have him back to talk about his latest book The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, 2019).

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:

Be sure to subscribe to show, CNFers, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. I make this show for you, so I’d deeply appreciate it if you shared it across your social channels. If you have a spare moment, leaving a rating or review helps with the show’s packaging. Helps validate the entire enterprise.

You can join me on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod, Instagram @cnfpod, and Facebook @CNFPodcast. If you tag me or the show I’ll be able to give you digital fist bumps.

Books by Philip Gerard

Too many to list! So visit this link to browse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Books by Philip Gerard