Write About Now

From the outside, it may seem like the memoir genre is reserved for writers with the most storied lives. But memoir author Sue William Silverman thinks everyone has a story worth telling. In this week’s episode, Jon and Sue talk about the process of writing a memoir, and how unlocking the senses is key to writing an engaging story. Sue details the development of some of her most well-known memoirs, including Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, Love Sick, and How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences and gives some prompts you can try to get your creative juices flowing. Plus, Sue addresses some of the biggest challenges that come with memoir writing and how to overcome them.

Author Mason Currey knows that for most writers, the biggest obstacle to writing is making the time to write. After getting interested in the routines of famous artists who do manage to find the time to create consistently, he began cataloguing their daily habits and routines. His books Daily Rituals: How Artists Work and Daily Rituals: Women at Work delve into the helpful (and sometimes odd) rituals that well-known artists use in their creative process. On the pod, Jon and Mason talk about the importance of forming a ritual as a creative and some of the helpful advice he’s gained after his research. Mason also talks about the wackiest rituals he’s read about, and how you don’t necessarily need to embody the stereotypical habits of the struggling artist to produce great work.

When an early-morning house fire killed Monica, Sandi, Gordon Klaus, and their chocolate lab Keela, police wrote it off as a tragic accident. But after finding bullet casings and gas cans, they suspected foul play. Detectives were brought in, and they soon began to uncover a bizarre murder plot you have to hear to believe. Guest Jana G. Pruden is an acclaimed crime writer who wrote about the Klaus murders in chilling detail for The Globe and Mail. This is a replay of our 2018 interview. 

Nate Patrin is a music journalist and author of the fascinating book Bring That Beat Back: How Sampling Built Hip-Hop. On the pod, he talks about the history of music sampling from the early days of block parties in the Bronx to the dominant role it plays in all of popular music today. We look at the controversy and legal battles surrounding sampling, and how this technique once branded as “stealing” has completely transformed music as we know it, particularly hip hop. Join us as we dig deep into the crates. 

It’s no easy task to follow in the footsteps of George Washington. But author Nathaniel Philbrick did just that — albeit 229 years later. For his latest book Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, Nathaniel followed George Washington’s 1789 tour of the country and pieces together the story of how one man traveled to 13 colonies in an effort to understand — and ultimately unite — them. On the pod, Nathaniel talks about how retracing George Washington’s travels helped him understand the U.S. president as an individual far more complex than the figure he presents on the dollar bill. He also parallels the current state of the United States to the country as it was in 1789, and what he thinks George Washington would say if he saw the state of our union today.

Most people would know Chris Matthews as the TV personality behind the show Hardball with Chris Matthews, but few may realize that before Chris graced the screen, he was a big-time writer. In this episode, I talk to the political commentator and journalist about his life and the stories he’s detailed in his recent memoir This Country: My Life in Politics and History. Chris opens up about his personal political upbringing, and how the intersections of his political and writing interests have gotten him to where he is today. Of course, we talk about modern-day politics, too. Chris comments on the evolution of the American political scene and gives his perspective on what the future holds for U.S. politics. I also take a turn at playing hardball, as Chris addresses his abrupt departure from television and what’s next for his career. Grab a drink and get comfy, because you are in for one jam-packed episode full of political anecdotes and writing nuggets from none other than Mr. Hardball himself.

A.J. Jacobs is a self-described human guinea pig. The New York Times-bestselling author’s curiosity has led him to write about some his wacky adventures, like reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for his memoir The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World and to thank everyone involved in making his cup of coffee for his newest book Thanks a Thousand.  Despite the creativity in his ideas, he says about 98% of them are terrible — so how does he find a good one? This week, A.J. and I talk about the work that goes into a creative idea, how to write when you hate writing, and the importance of gratitude throughout your journey.

Albert Einstein once said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Purportedly, he said this after his lesser-known E = mc4 debacle. I made the last part up but the point is: We all make mistakes, and that’s not such a bad thing. But knowing what blunders to avoid can give you a head start in improving your writing. Author and writing coach Melissa Clark joins host Jon Small to detail the most common errors writers make. They speak from decades of experience writing, editing, and screwing up. Topics include such classics as telling not showing, overly creative dialogue tags, waiting for inspiration to hit, writer’s imposter syndrome, and gingerly using really annoying adverbs.

Dan Barry is a National Treasure. In his long, celebrated career, the New York Times journalist has traveled the 50 states, bringing us stories of both historic and seemingly everyday events from unlikely perspectives (see this week's coverage of 9/11, for a shining example). He is a master at giving voice to the voiceless, people who don't usually get the headlines but should. On the pod, Dan shares tips on how to write about subjects who don’t share your perspective. He also gives his advice for wannabe journalists and explains his secret sauce in making his stories so meaningful. 

What if you could control what happens in your dreams? Turns out you can by doing something called lucid dreaming. Science journalist Alice Robb digs into the phenomenon in her book Why We Dream. The book discusses the ways ancient Greeks and modern research alike have tried to explain the purpose behind dreams, as well as why we should even pay attention to them. On the pod, Alice talks about her journey to becoming an experienced lucid dreamer and gives tips on how you can also control your dreamstate. We get into what modern research and academics are doing to understand dreams and lucid dreaming, and how the existence of new practices like dream retreats and dream groups are helping people form meaning from their unconscious. Plus, we talk about why we all seem to have those weird dreams about losing our teeth and failing an exam, and what they even mean in the first place.