đââïž Welcome, writer!
And welcome particularly to the recent subscribers.
Shout out to author Brian OâSullivan for a recommendation that brought some of you here. He just launched his own paid Substack newsletter related to his new novel.
Iâm Blake Atwood, a nonfiction editor, author, and ghostwriter. My literary claim to nominal fame is as an early developmental editor on Atomic Habits, but Iâve worked on more than 60 books, including a few of my own.
As an editor, I know unequivocally that Iâm not a better writer than a majority of the authors Iâve worked with. So this newsletter is not offered from on high but rather from beside, both of us following that long, well-trod path of writers seeking to become just a little bit better every day.Â
If this path actually existed, Hemingwayâs quote would be on the archway above its entrance: âWe are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.â
P.S. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and youâd like to subscribe, please do so below.
Does âThe Bearâ respect its audience? Yes, chef!
Before we get to the writing tip, letâs walk through a scene from the critically acclaimed Hulu show The Bear. Note: this will spoil the ending of âPasta,â the second episode of the second season.Â
Also, a promise: I will do my best to refuse the siren song of making a bear pun.
Onto the spoiling.
In the last scene of that episode, main character and genius chef Carmy meets Claire, an old crush, at a supermarket. They reconnect. They look at each other with that look. She asks for his number. He gives itâexcept he pauses before giving the final digit.
I have the short-term memory of a bee, so I had to ask myself: Did he just purposefully give her the wrong number?
Then I recalled that Carmy had said his full number over the phone during a scene toward the beginning of the episode. So I rewound and confirmed my suspicion.
Heâd turned her down on purpose.
But why?Â
They were perfect for each other, and Carmyâs both lonely and stressed. He needed this connection.
I was upset.Â
Then I remembered another line that the brilliant writers had dropped into an earlier scene where Carmy and his genius sous chef Syd are talking about âgetting a star.â
Theyâre referring to the infamous and hard-to-obtain Michelin Stars granted to top-rated restaurants. Carmyâs run a starred restaurant before. Syd is young; she wants a star.
Carmy asks if itâs really important to her. She says yes.
He replies with the blunt truth. If you want that star, âYouâre gonna have to care about everything more than anything."
And so, when Carmy gives the wrong final digit to this girl he obviously wants to date, heâs practicing what heâs preached.
His focus isnât the star; itâs on opening their restaurant.
So he had to choose.
***
Having just finished the second season last night, itâs possible I could devote a dozen newsletters to the lessons we could learn as creatives from a show like The Bear, both from its story and the way the writers told its story.
I wonât do that, but just know that thereâs more to be gleaned should you watch the show.
As for what stood out to me in âPasta,â I thought about two facts, both related to how deeply the showâs writers respect their audience:
1. The writers made the audience do the math.
When it came to Carmyâs dishonest digit, they seeded that plot point in what we assumed was a throwaway line. So when he lies at the end, we as the audience are expected to understand whatâs going on.Â
The writing tip (which is more easily achieved in fiction than nonfiction): consider what could be removed from your work such that you make your reader connect the dots. Iâm not advocating being purposefully opaque or difficult; rather, Iâm suggesting that a reader could be more invested in your work when they feel like a partner in solving a crime.
However, figuring out that Carmy was lying was an easy equation to solve. Itâs the second meaning of the lie that really achieves the gut punch I believe the writers were going for.
2. The writers presented disparate scenes but the same theme.
The aha moment I experienced as a viewer came when I realized that Carmy was âcaring about everythingâ related to his restaurant âmore than anything,â i.e., the possibility of a deep, romantic relationship.
In other words, the theme of his scene with Syd bled into his final scene with Claire.
In another episode of the season, the phrase EVERY SECOND COUNTS plays a pivotal (and dual-meaning) role. Iâd change that for us as writers: Every word counts.Â
That echoes a well-known quote from our friends Strunk and White: âVigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.â
The writing tip: When you revise, be a prosecuting attorney. Ask every word (and every theme): Whatâs your reason for being? Do you belong here? Is there an eventual payoff for your existence?Â
Be brutal in revision.
Because if you want to write a great book, âYouâre gonna have to care about everything more than anything."
đ» For your consideration
đïž Josh Bernoff relays that traditionally published nonfiction authors can expect a median advance of $17,500. Read more, including helpful graphs, in âHow big will your book advance be? Results of my nonfiction author survey.âÂ
đïž Jane Friedman is hosting a paid webinar via Writerâs Digest University titled âEstablish (Or Improve) Your Email Newsletterâ on July 13. Part of it will include the pros and cons of using Substack.
đïž Kyle Porter is a golf writer for CBS Sports and compiles an epic newsletter for âgolf sickosâ called The Normal Sporter where he documents just how abnormal golf truly is. I highlight it here because itâs a lengthy yet still engaging newsletter and a great example of curating and routinely publishing content on a specific topicâsomething I believe more nonfiction writers should do.
đ Featured Tee
I only release T-shirts that speak the truth.
Note: This comes in a variety of colors in case stark red reminds you of the last time you received your edited manuscript back.
Also, itâs currently on sale for $16 for the next few hours.
đ§č Housekeeping
Iâm on vacation this coming week, but I also bought a new, light, cheap Chromebook in the hopes of writing more. So Iâm still between wanting this newsletter to go out every week, every two weeks, once a month, or according to the chaos menu. If youâve read this far, how often would you like to see this newsletter?
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