In this episode we talk about book proposals, his approach to organizing his notes, and how being a reporter was like being in a “candy store.” Good, good stuff.
I had a lot of fun, and I hope you do, too.
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Peter is the author of the memoir The End of Boys and the novels Too Shattered for Mending and This is the Part Where You Laugh.
He’s also the creator of the new podcast Boring is a Swear Word, and it is a great listen. It’s not an interview show. It’s these little riffs, poems, and essays from his life. I highly recommend adding it to your podcast feed.
As you know, keep the conversation chugging @CNFPod across all the social networks. And if your work needs that kick in the pants, I’d be honored to serve you and your work. Email me and we’ll start a dialogue to whip that manuscript into the shape it deserves.
In our conversation, Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City and Stay: Threads, Conversations and Collaborations, says, “There’s a certain perverse pleasure in writing a memoir because it’s a bastardized genre. It’s a little bit of the Wild West. I mean, it’s filled with charlatans, posers, and huge egos. It’s a weird genre. It doesn’t have the cachet that the novel has. There’s a bit of a carnival atmosphere to it, which I was attracted to.”
So, you know, there’s that to look forward to.
This is episode 2-0-0 of CNF, the creative nonfiction podcast where I speak to badass people about the art and craft of telling true stories. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to keep the conversation going on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Tagging me and the show will let me jump in the fire with you.
I’d love to know your takeaways?
What resonated with you?
What inspired you?
Here’s to the next 200 of these things.
Also, the newsletter is where it’s at. Here’s a sample, and you can always subscribe in the form below, or the smaht bah up top, or even the pop up that’ll come on the screen.
I loved Inside Game and had a nice time speaking with Keith about his voracious reading habit, his penchant for board games, where analytics are heading, and lots, lots more.
This isn’t a conversation deep on baseball, believe it or not. Though he did tell me why it’s best to bat your best hitter No. 2 in the lineup and why RBIs are a misleading statistic.
Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to sign up for monthly newsletter below. Lots of reading recommendations and what you might have missed from the world of the podcast. Keep the conversation going on Twitter, IG, and Facebook.
As always, I hope I made something worth sharing, so if you dig the show, pass it along to the others.
Lots of fun speaking to Rani about how her parents nurtured her creative side, but were worried about she’d make a career out of creative work.
We talk about day jobs, imposter syndrome, growth/fixed mindsets, power heels, and dude hats.
She’s the founder of Fuss Class, a south Asian satire site. Very Onion-esque. Rani hangs out on Instagram @raanstermonster. She came to play ball.
I think you’ll have fun with this one and I’d love to hear from you if you did. Email the show and ping us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
We need more submissions to our first ever audio magazine. The theme is Social Distancing: Essays from Isolation. 2,000 words/15-minute read. Deadline is MAY 1. Email your essay with SUBMISSION in the subject line to creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
Questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out. This a community. We’re in this mess together. Share this episode with your people and encourage them to share it to. If you don’t feel the need to share it, then I’ve failed at making something remarkable. And I’ll keep working harder and harder so that it continues to earn your endorsement and, more importantly, your valuable time.
Eva Holland returns to the show after a long, long absence.
In this episode, you’ll hear some of the advanced advice she knows and wants to know regarding freelancing, the nexus of memoir and deep reportage, participatory antics, and overcoming the imposter syndrome of stepping out of her comfort zone.
I’m hesitant to include or first interview because it is a rough production. Eva was great. Me on the other hand …
“I knew right away I would be writing about my mom’s death. I knew that immediately,” Eva told me, and that was what triggered a years’ long journey into fear and her relationship to it.
Follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Email the show with questions or kind words creativenonfictionpodcast@gmail.com. If this show means something to you, please consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts.
So many great insights about negative self-talk, what they feel is fundamentally lacking in most self-help books, and how to ultimately be kinder to yourself.
This book comes at a good time because things are rough. Things are topsy-turvy. We need people like Jolenta and Kristen doing their thing and thankfully their work is out there for us.
As you know, you can keep in touch on social media by following the show @CNFPod wherever. Also, if you’re feeling kind, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Share this show if it means something to you. We’d be honored if you did.
[Again, no art because my website host hasn’t fixed the issue yet.]
This was a fun book, especially if you like Malcolm Gladwell-style books that orbit one idea. This book takes you all over the place, not just basketball, so I think you’ll have a lot of fun with it. If I didn’t already put in the last newsletter, I’ll be sure to include it in the next one.
In any case, don’t forget that we’re putting out our very first audio-mag on the theme: Social Distancing, essays from/on isolation. They must be 2,000 words or fewer (that’s a 15-minute read) and be original work. Email you submission to creative nonfiction podcast at gmail dot com, ya dig?
That’s as good a time as any to say that I’m thinking of all you out there. Some have it pretty rough. I can’t complain. I have shelter, food, clothes and a job (for now) that lets me work from home. And I’ve got this podcast that I get to make for you.
This show only work if you share it hand to hand. Be an Ambassador CNFer and spread what we’re doing around. @CNFPod on all the social platforms.
“Selection is as creative as generation,” says Michael Schulman on the podcast.
Michael Schulman is a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Her Again, a biography of the early life of Meryl Streep. Go check it out. I haven’t read it yet, as I came to Michael’s work through his profiles in The New Yorker.
As coincidence would have it, once I had lined up Michael to be on the show, he appeared on This American Life during the introduction to the Everyone’s a Critic show.
In any case, it was Michael’s profile on James Cordon that prompted me to reach out, but I also loved his work on Adam Driver and Bo Burnham as well.
In this show we talk about how his work is driven by joy, how he boils down each story down to a single, secret word, and how his background in theater led to his break at the magazine. Some great stuff here.
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And did you listen to the long introduction to this episode yet? I’m publishing the first CNF Pod audio magazine with the theme Social Distancing: Essays from/of Isolation. Word limit is 2,000 as we want the reading to be 15 minutes or less. Email submissions to creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com. DEADLINE IS MAY 1, 2020.
In this time of social distancing and isolation, hearing essays from this challenging time can bring us together. I hope you’ll submit your best work. I’d be honored to publish it three or four of however many submissions I receive.
OK, readyyyyyy, break!
PS: I’m having technical difficulties uploading photographs, so that’s why you haven’t seen author photos for the past few episodes. Hoping the host I pay money to will figure it out.
Hey, CNFers, citizens of CNF Nation! We’ve got Allison Fallon here for you. She offers brilliant insights into following your calling and finding your voice.
She’s the author of several books, most recently Indestructible.
Allison has taken control of her writing journey and I think you’ll find some juicy nuggets to apply to your life. Good stuff.
