Transparent Tuesdays

Issue 210

You guys,

Someone sent me an email recently to let me know he was no longer subscribed to my newsletter.

It was a very nice, very long email that went on to explain that he would only follow those who wrote “specifically about the craft of non-fiction writing.”

I squinted at the screen. What does he think I’m doing each week?

Then, more recently, I collaborated with Michael Dean and multiple subscribers commented that they had never listened to the podcast. That’s when I realized I haven’t properly explained what I’ve been doing for the past nine months. (Apparently I’m not so good at communicating with Sam, either. He often says to me during arguments, “I can’t read your mind.”)

So let me just tell you my intentions with the podcast, and with this newsletter, for that matter. 

I am in the process of writing my own memoir (for real, like I’m actually writing it, it’s happening!). The podcast is where I talk about what I learned from the memoirs I’ve read and how I can apply those learnings to my own book. 

Up until last week I called the podcast Bleecker Bombs but I named it that back when each episode was a conversation between me and Sam speaking candidly about topics like parenting, marriage, money, and ambition. I was droppin’ bombs… Bleecker Bombs… you get it.  

Now that I’m committed to the new format (15 memoir episodes so far) I’ve changed the name of the podcast to Memoir Snob. 

Because let’s face it, that’s what I’ve become. 

From now on when I release a new podcast episode that’s what I’ll write about in the newsletter that week. 

Otherwise I’ll be writing my usual personal posts. They might be about something that has happened recently that I feel compelled to write about, like a hard conversation with my mom or my experience during a breathwork session, but more often than not I’ll be exploring stories from my past that might be included in my book, like the stories about Ryan and Brad.  

The newsletter and the podcast are aligned in that they are both in service of writing my book. If you have any interest in the memoirs I’m reading, or in writing a book, or in my process for writing my own book, or you just want to have a parasocial relationship with me because that’s all the rage these days, Memoir Snob is for you. 

Now let’s get to today’s podcast episode!

I read Life On Delay by John Hendrickson. I don’t often suggest that anyone should read a book but this is the exception. Everyone should read this book. It gave me similar vibes as when I watched the movie Rudy, although this is not a book about sports; it’s about having a stutter. 

There are two main things I learned from this book. The first was about structure (where to start your book, then how and when to come back to it later) and the second was about how to write about strained familial relationships, in this case, his older brother Matt. 

And if you’re new to the podcast, here are some of my fav eps to get you started:

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Major takeaways:

• Coin terms throughout the book, even the title!

• Open with a powerful, visual scene.

• Write a chapter on how you met the person you chose to spend the rest of your life with (obviously… because this is the most important decision of your life).

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

Major takeaways: 

• Analogies help you avoid cliches and alliteration is a subtle way to make your writing sing.

• Foreshadowing creates suspense and asks a question. Later, it answers that question.

• Callbacks are a relevant reference to something that took place earlier in the narrative. Different from foreshadowing, they feel like a pat on the back or an inside joke, like we know what’s going on because we were here from the beginning.

• Don’t look up writing rules on the internet! Instead, read the writing of people you admire and write like them (for example, Moehringer uses a lot of em dashes and rarely uses commas—now I find myself trying to do the same).

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Major takeaways:

• When you leave out thoughts and feelings it evokes big emotions from the reader. Action and dialogue are what drive a story—not thoughts and feelings.

• Want a strong ending? End with a callback that is also a metaphor. 

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Until next week,

Charlie