Elizabeth Kolbert writes luminous and lucid articles and books about topics the rest of us dismiss as being too hard.  She brings stories to life about science and climate change.  Much awarded and lauded for her work, Kolbert is interviewed here by Creative Nonfiction Magazine.

In the movie Bang the Drum Slowly, there’s a card game called “The Exciting Game without Any Rules,” and I think that’s a good description of writing in general.  It’s true of nonfiction writing in the sense that you are at the mercy of events.  You go out, and you have to hope that you see something or that something happens which will make a good story.  And you can’t make this stuff up.  And when it doesn’t work out, it’s terrifying.

In the movie Bang the Drum Slowly, there’s a card game called “The Exciting Game without Any Rules,” and I think that’s a good description of writing in general. It’s true of nonfiction writing in the sense that you are at the mercy of events. You go out, and you have to hope that you see something or that something happens which will make a good story. And you can’t make this stuff up. And when it doesn’t work out, it’s terrifying – See more at: https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/turning-out-lights-just-isnt-going-do-it#sthash.qepVIP1s.dpuf
KOLBERT: If I knew that. . . . In the movie Bang the Drum Slowly, there’s a card game called “The Exciting Game without Any Rules,” and I think that’s a good description of writing in general. It’s true of nonfiction writing in the sense that you are at the mercy of events. You go out, and you have to hope that you see something or that something happens which will make a good story. And you can’t make this stuff up. And when it doesn’t work out, it’s terrifying. – See more at: https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/turning-out-lights-just-isnt-going-do-it#sthash.qepVIP1s.dpuf
KOLBERT: If I knew that. . . . In the movie Bang the Drum Slowly, there’s a card game called “The Exciting Game without Any Rules,” and I think that’s a good description of writing in general. It’s true of nonfiction writing in the sense that you are at the mercy of events. You go out, and you have to hope that you see something or that something happens which will make a good story. And you can’t make this stuff up. And when it doesn’t work out, it’s terrifying. – See more at: https://www.creativenonfiction.org/online-reading/turning-out-lights-just-isnt-going-do-it#sthash.qepVIP1s.dpuf