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Episode 399: William Ralston Recounts a Harrowing Rescue for The Atavist

By Brendan O’Meara

William Ralston is a freelancer journalist and he comes on the show to talk about “Mayday,” his long feature about a harrowing rescue of four children after a deadly plane crash for The Atavist.

Right from the start, William grabs the reader and doesn’t let you go, man. Maybe you’ll consider subscribing to The Atavist Magazine. I don’t get any kickbacks, so I do it out of the goodness of Grinch-sized heart (before he serves up the roast beast).

William’s work has appeared all over the place. He’s a dogged reporter, so we get into that quite a bit.

This conversation gets into trust, as well as learning how to write before you’re ready. Jonah Ogles also stops by to give some of those valuable insights into the editor side of the table.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my rage-against-the-algorithm. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Episode 398: Emily Sohn Explores the Complicated Legacy of Virginia Kraft

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By Brendan O’Meara

Emily Sohn (@tidepoolsink) is a freelance journalist based out of Minnesota. For Long Lead, she wrote “The Catch,” an in-depth feature about Virginia Kraft, a trailblazing and complicated woman who was one of the first female writers at Sports Illustrated.

It’s a gripping piece that delves into the ruthlessly ambitious life of Kraft, while weaving in present-day introspection from Emily.

We talk about how she arrived at the story, how she got her head around the research, and the dark night of the soul that always accompanies long work.

Emily’s work has appeared in Long Lead, National Geographic, the Washington Post, Outside, and the New York Times, among others.

Now in Paperback: Howard Bryant says ‘Everybody Gets Forgotten’

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This episode originally aired on June 10, 2022 as Episode 320.

By Brendan O’Meara

What a great interview to re-up. Tremendous insights into the craft of biography and the perfect way to lobby subjects about what it’s important for a credible journalist to tell their stories: Everybody gets forgotten. They might not thinks so, but it’s true. And Howard made that case to Rickey Henderson for Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original.

Howard is the author of several books including The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism, and Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston.

Now in Paperback: Matt Bell Refuses to be Done, Dammit

By Brendan O’Meara

Matt Bell (@mdbell79) is here. Why? He’s got a great craft book out called Refuse to be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts.

What a great handbook to walk you through the generative pages and then the arduous task — the REAL work — of refining, rewriting, and revising.

This book will teach you patience.

This book will teach you perserverance.

This book will teach you the meaning of work.

Episode 397: Leah Sottile Riffs on Kurt Vonnegut’s Rules on Writing

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By Brendan O’Meara

Wow!

Leah Sottile is back, and this time she’s got a new paperback edition of When the Moon Turns to Blood to riff about. She even added a bonus chapter, which finally puts the bed the saga of Lori Vallow, the Doomsday Queen.

Leah also is the voice behind Bundyville and Burn Wild. Dude knows how to write an ending, that’s all I’ll say.

What was especially fun this time around with Leah was digging into Kurt Vonnegut’s Eight Rules on Writing and getting her take on them. Bookmark that link for your records. She’s a big Vonnegut fan, as am I, so that was a toe-tappin’ good time.

And ok but sure she also has a great newsletter, but you should subscribe to it and don’t unsubscribe. I know the pain of the unsubscribe all too well.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Episode 396: Rae Nudson on Earning Trust, The Atavist, and the Pint-of-Ice-Cream Moment

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By Brendan O’Meara

Rae Nudson is a journalist who focuses much of her attention and reportorial energies on women’s health. Her latest piece for The Atavist Magazine (subscribe! I don’t get kickbacks.) is titled “Damages: An ob-gyn in Virginia performed unnecessary surgeries on patients for decades. When his victims learned the truth, they fought back.”

Rae’s work has appeared in The Cut, Paste, Vox, and Giddy. She’s also the author of All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls. of Beauty Culture, from Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian.

In this episode we dig into how she reported this piece and how her central figures sought retribution for the damages inflicted upon them, often without their consent.

We also hear from Seyward Darby, editor-in-chief for The Atavist, about her goals for the upcoming year for herself and the magazine, as well as what she’s looking for in pitches.

The show’s Instagram handle, @creativenonfictionpodcast, and you can always keep the conversation going on Threads @creativenonfictionpodcast. Or not … you know what’s better? Keep reading …

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my Up-to-11 Newsletter. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Episode 395: “The Six,” Mini-Deadlines and the Twang with Loren Grush

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By Brendan O’Meara

Hey, look! It’s Loren Grush (@grushcrush)! She’s a space journalist and author of The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts (Scribner Book Company).

This was a fun chat about:

Centering women in space
Setting mini-deadlines
The Vomit Comet
And what the hell is the “twang”?

Episode 393: Katya Cengel and Finding Enough ‘There’ There for The Atavist

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By Brendan O’Meara

Katya Cengel (@kcengel) is a journalist and author, and she’s the journalist behind “The Truth is Out There” for The Atavist Magazine. A father’s disappearance, dark family secrets, and the hunt for Bigfoot.

It’s a touching story on “searching for elusive truths,” that weaves together cryptozoology and a family in search of their father.

So in this episode we unpack who Katya dug up this story, earning trust, and getting comfortable with untidy endings.

We also speak with editor Jonah Ogles about getting pitches over the hump and the value in pitching again and again.

Lots of great stuff for you to chew on.

Now in Paperback: Susan Orlean on Writing for an Audience and the Entrepreneurial Nature of a Writing Career

This episode originally aired on August 11, 2017 as Episode 61

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These “now in paperbacks” are a nice reprieve for me work-wise and time-wise, and it’s nice to scroll through my Pocket Casts apps and go, “Oh, that’d be a snazzy one!”

And so we’re here with Susan Orlean’s first rodeo at CNF Pod HQ. Great stuff, like:

always having an audience in mind
having supreme focus
and needing to see yourself as a business person if you plan on doing this type of work

Naturally, a lot more stuff to gnaw on. There was no book to promote, so this is really a writing and craft-centered pod. Future pods dig into her recent work, being The Library Book and On Animals as of this date, Nov. 24, 2023.

The show’s Instagram handle, @creativenonfictionpodcast, and you can always keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod. Or not … you know what’s better? Keep reading …

And you know I’d rather you sign up for my Up-to-11 Newsletter. Here’s the latest. Signup form is below you and to your right. Book recs, book raffles, cool stuff curated by me for you, CNFin’ happy hour or writing group, writing prompts, fun and entertaining. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Consider supporting the show via Patreon patreon.com/cnfpod. Shop around if you want to support the community. You make that possible. The show is free but it ain’t cheap.

Free ways to support the show?

Subscribe and download and share across your socials. And don’t forget to consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Those go a LONG way.

Episode 392: Damon Brown Goes from Zero to 18,000

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By Brendan O’Meara

Damon Brown is an author, entrepreneur, and coach and his latest book is The Complete Bring Your Worth Collection. It is definitive. It is his capstone.

Much of Damon’s work has been centered on writing, but the past few years he’s started a fine YouTube show that showcases his particular expertise and how he can get you where you want to go.

In this episode, we talk about:

How he grew is YouTube channel from 0 to 18K
The BYW Collection as capstone
And how obscurity is your friend … to a point

There’s lots of other stuff to chew on as well, naturally. I also share a parting shot about the needless and senseless worry over platform building and where we really need to put our focus. It’s kinda like this blog I wrote … but with more swears.