“My mind is a very bad neighborhood and I should not go there alone,” says Bronwen Dickey in her fourth trip to the podcast
She was here for Ep. 21, 45, 137 and now 248.
It’s always a good time when I get to catch up with her.
Continue reading “Episode 248: Humble and Important Gifts with Bronwen Dickey”
By Brendan O’Meara
How’s this for a pull quote from Jason Naylor (@jasonnaylor on Instagram):
How do you find your style? How do you find your voice. And the truth is, I think that you don’t find it until you stop trying to find it. You just make work. If you’re a writer, you just keep writing. If you draw, then you just keep drawing, and the more you do it, you start to see patterns, you start to see a rhythm in what you’re doing. And then one day you look back and you realize, ‘Oh, I actually I can see that I have a voice.’
How brilliant is that?
Continue reading “Episode 247: Jason Naylor, In Living Color”
She’s a freelancer and she is not a struggling freelancer in the ways that many of us identify as a struggling freelancer, which is to say: we po’.
Jenni, @jenni_gritters, along with her co-pilot on The Writers’ Co-op Podcast Wudan Yan, are thriving. Through strategy and rigor, Jenni is a six-figure earner, this during the pandemic, this when many writers are struggling to make a go of it.
She turned her skill into money, which allows her to double down on her skill and do more projects that are more personal-driven.
I like to think of some content/branded writing gigs like when Jake Gyllenhaall does a blockbuster movie so that he can then do the art-house stuff he probably wants to do. Book your Marvel movie, then go write your memoir. Haha.
Continue reading “Episode 246: Jenni Gritters on the Freelance Life, Not Waiting for Perfect, and Sh*t Sandwiches”
Phil Hoad (@phload) is a journalist based in the south of France and his latest piece is featured in The Atavist. It’s titled “Cat and Mouse.”
It tells the story of two animal rights activists and their drive to find who they think is a serial killer of cats, rabbits, and foxes, but mainly cats.
In this bonus episode, I speak with lead editor Jonah Ogles (@jonahogles) about Phil’s pitch, what makes certain pitches have legs while others don’t, and the importance of figuring out how to end things. It’s much like when I spoke with Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby.
Then Phil unpacks the story from there.
Continue reading “Episode 245: Phil Hoad and his Atavist Story ‘Cat and Mouse’”Become a Patron!View on Zencastr
Jackie MacMullan, the legendary basketball writer, is on the podcast to talk about judging what we know to be the final installment of The Best American Sports Writing.
She’s chronicled the NBA (big ups to Louisa Thomas) since the early 1980s for The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and now ESPN.
Her five-part series on mental health in the NBA was widely lauded and a must-read.
Continue reading “Episode 244: Jackie MacMullan on the Fear of Failure, Writing that Teaches You, and the Final Chapter of ‘Best American Sports Writing’”
Claire McNear is a staff writer for The Ringer and the author of Answers in the Form of Questions (Twelve).
“The times that I write best, the times that I’m able to write a lot are the times that I’ve got a fire under me. And that is what happens with a deadline. That is what happens when it’s 10 p.m. and you’ve written like, 150 words that day,” Claire says on the podcast.
Continue reading “Episode 243: Claire McNear of The Ringer Talks All Things Writing, Jeopardy!, and the Late Great Alex Trebek”
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By Brendan O’Meara
Damon Brown returns!
Had a great time talking about his new book Build from Now: Know Your Power, See Your Abundance and Change the World.
Damon’s all over the place. He’s talkin’ TED, he’s coaching, he’s almost written thirty books, he’s the primary caretaker of his two young boys, all of that and he’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. I think you’ll agree.
Continue reading “Episode 242: ‘How Are You Going to Change the World?’ asks Damon Brown”
So excited to have the one and only Alexandra DiPalma back on the show to talk all things podcasting.
She leads the Podcast Workshop, a part of Akimbo Workshops, and in it you’ll learn what it means to find your voice and develop skills that will translate to other areas of your life and career.
If you follow this link ===> THIS ONE <=== you’ll get pretty slick discount. I’m not sure when it expires, but check it out.
Continue reading “Episode 239: Alexandra DiPalma Leads the Podcast Workshop”
By Brendan O’Meara (@CNFPod)
V.V. Ganeshananthan is the author of Love Marriage, an essayist, and a journalist. She also teaches at the MFA program at the University of Minnesota. She’s on Instagram and Twitter.
Whitney Terrell is the author of The Good Lieutenant. He also is a journalist who covered the Iraq War. He teaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He’s on Instagram and Twitter.
They co-host the Fiction/Non/Fiction Podcast as part of the Lithub network of podcasts. It’s on Instagram and Twitter.
Continue reading “Episode 237: A Fiction/Non/Fiction Festival with V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell”
By Brendan O’Meara
“Writing a book could be very tedious, but I’m writing to make myself laugh or cry. If I’m not crying or laughing, I’m so bored. When I’m telling a story, I’m laughing or crying. Most of the time, that’s what I’m doing it for. If I’m not thrilled by something, I can’t do it. It becomes tedious and I quit,” says Michael Leviton, author of the memoir To Be Honest (Abrams Press).
He is @michaelleviton on Instagram. A great follow.
Continue reading “Episode 236: Michael Leviton on Quantity Over Quality, Play, and His New Book ‘To Be Honest’”