The Art of Developing Your Idea into a Book
Nicola Twilley on Researching, Writing, Organizing, Rewriting and Changing Plans
“I do love a good rewrite.” —Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite
Preview: Episode 118 with Nicola Twilley
“I had read lots of nonfiction books,” says journalist and podcaster Nicola Twilley, “but I didn’t recognize my own idea as having that potential.” In fact, it took other people telling her, “This is a book,” before she realized the true scope of her project. Twilley had been interested in doing an article on refrigeration—as she says, in the “farm to table” craze, she was most interested in the “to.” And thus her new book was born: Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet and Ourselves. We speak with Twilley about how the scope of the project changed, her research methods, how rewriting can be a writer’s favorite part of a project, the difference between writing alone and with a partner, and how sometimes the worst luck can turn into the best luck.
Nicola Twilley is the coauthor of Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine, named one of the best books of 2021 by Time, NPR, The Guardian, and the Financial Times. She is cohost of Gastropod, an award-winning podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker.
What We’re Reading and Listening to:
Rosemerry:
Speaking of the cold … apropos of Nicola’s book, in the middle of summer, I found the most fabulous chilly surprise! Audrey Boag makes art of photographing soap bubbles as they freeze in “the coldest days of February.” She writes: “I offer soap bubbles to the snow, and for an ephemeral moment there is wonder. The air has to be still, the sun low, the forest in shadow, and like most things, I've no idea what will emerge. It's zero-degrees-quiet, and I have to run inside to the wood stove every so often to thaw my fingers and toes. Everyone sees them differently: leaves, feathers, an eagle, a fox...oh how I wish I'd written them all down!” Pure magic.
While it’s still summer, I love these two poems by Vox Populi editor Michael Simms … both of them touch the season so perfectly.
Christie:
A friend turned me on to Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries series, and I can’t stop reading them. I started at the beginning —All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1). This novella about a part-organic, part-robotic creature has a decent plot, but what makes the story so compelling is the characters, especially our protagonist, who calls themself “Murderbot.” The diaries series is a super fun, fast read that explores some deeper themes about what makes us human.
Oh hey look, here’s this week’s guest on the front cover of the New York Times book review!
Helping My Parents Move
At seven, I sat on a towel in front of the freezer
with the blow dryer, a sponge and a bucket
to earn money for a new plastic recorder.
Oh, how I wanted that reward.
So for hours, I switched the blow dryer
from one hand to the other, inwardly fussy,
wishing mom would just buy it for me.
How enormous the task seemed then.
When that brown recorder
finally came in a beige vinyl pouch,
I played “Hot Cross Buns” like I meant it.
I blew “Ode to Joy” in bright torture through the house,
and mangled “Mary Had a Little Lamb,”
but oh was I happy.
Now, scrubbing my parent’s refrigerator
I see how the tables have turned,
how the work becomes its own reward.
Decades of my parent’s love and sacrifice
bring me to this moment, when,
kneeling in front of the fridge,
sponge in hand, bucket beside me,
I feel like the luckiest woman alive,
Mom going through the cupboards beside me,
humming “Love is Blue,” perhaps a little out tune,
but oh, she is happy, so happy.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
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This week, we talk with Nicola about the importance of “the second brain,” the differences between podcasting and writing and what she’s learned from each, and the best rabbit holes she fell down while researching her book Frostbite (hint: it has to do with the origin of the hoodie). If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can go now to our website, EmergingForm.substack.com, or by clicking the button below. Thank you!
Two Questions:
(share your answers with us here on Substack or in our FB group)
How do you find a trusted person to critique your work?
What lessons have you learned about writing from practicing another art?
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