If you attended the “Digging Deep: Using Research in Creative Nonfiction” panel at Conversations and Connections today, here is my recommended reading list for hermit crab essays that (might) borrow their structure from research.  (And if you didn’t attend the panel, perhaps you’ll be interested in them anyway!)

My own work that I discussed (because I know for sure how research influenced the structures of these pieces!):

• “War Weary from a Dangerous Liaison,” Modern Love, The New York Times, 16 Nov 2008
• “The Heart as a Torn Muscle,” Brevity, Jan 2015
• “Out of Bounds: The Origin of an Essay,” Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog, April 2015

To help increase your powers of observation, try the quick-diary or X-page exercise (same content, slightly different form) from the excellent book Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor by Lynda Barry.  Then buy the book — it’s terrific!

Thanks to Brevity for this photo. Click on it to read the post that goes with it!

• From the pain scale: “The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss
• From a syllabus: “The Professor of Longing” by Jill Talbot
• From Google maps: “Mr. Plimpton’s Revenge” by Dinty W. Moore
• Also “Grand Theft Auto” by Joey Franklin (you can read the first part here)
• From a Trivial Pursuit card:“The Six Answers on the Back of a Trivial Pursuit Card” by Caitlin Horrocks, which you can read by subscribing to The Normal School here

(I posted this the morning of the conference so you’d be able to see it right after (or even during!) the panel.  I’ll make any updates to this list this evening, but please feel free to share your own suggestions in the comments.  Thanks!)