Delete, Delete, Delete

A writing prompt, and books by Kai Bird/Martin Sherwin, Elizabeth Rynecki, Earl Swift, and Tommy Tomlinson

Author

Brendan O'Meara
April 01, 2024

The Riff

Ok but listen, by the time this hits your uncluttered inbox, I will be fourteen days away from the major book deadline.

My rough drafts, to quote Kurt Vonnegut, look like they were written by “an armless legless man with a crayon in his mouth.”

The sooner you’re OK with this, the better off you’ll be. 

I’m in the process of cutting about 57,000 words from my Prefontaine biography. And it’s difficult because some scenes required a lot of work to sketch. In that one scene, I might have spoken to someone for 60-90 minutes to get one measly detail. And that scene, in the end, might get trashed. [UPDATE: I’ve cut 25,000 words after two passes. I still have to write a 1,000-word prologue. I’m not panicking. You are.]

Every scene gets dragged, Law & Order style, into the interrogation room. Cigarette smoke swirls into the overhead light. We’re all drinking black coffee that came out of that machine in the breakroom in eight-ounce styrofoam cup. The Scene is shaking in its chair. You’re bombarding it with questions: What is your purpose? What are you adding to this book? 

I want my phone call.

YOU DON’T GET A PHONE CALL, MAGGOT!

This is cruel and unusual punishment and I don’t have to …

YOU’RE CRUEL AND UNUSUAL! [SELECT, CTRL + X]. You make me sick …

So, yeah, it’s kinda like that.

As you know, this newsletter starts here, and goes up to 11!

The Books

1 . American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Whilst penning a biography, I was reluctant to read one, but given where I’m at, I was looking for a code breaker for my prologue. (Nailed it! The prologue of this book will be modeled, beat for beat, for my book. Not copied … modeled.)

3 . Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show by Tommy Tomlinson. Long wanted to have Tommy on the pod, and it’s gonna happen, friend.

The Other Stuff

5 . Wanna get wicked good at email marketing? Plug into Stephen Knezovich’s newsletter. Consider hiring him. You know me, social media is just about meaningless. Newsletters, email, permission, is where 99% of your marketing/promotional energy should go. Wanna get the most out of raging against the algorithm? Follow Stephen. Oh, and listen to him here.

9 . “Be urgent with your own growth,” says Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson. Also, nice profile on Lawson by Mirin Fader.

10 . Steph Curry making a young fan cry made me cry.

11 . Jane Friedman on Substack (not, like, she’s ON Substack. She riffs on Substack.).

Writing Prompt

Bringing back the prompt because they’re fun. Here you go: What is your favorite “unplugged” activity?

CNFin’ 40-minute Happy Hour

We have a beer. Or a seltzer water. You can ask a question. Someone might have the answer.

Thursday, April 18, 2024, 5 p.m. PST

Goodbye!

b.r.o.