Listen:
I was so delighted to connect with Oregon-based journalist and author Melissa Hart when she invited me to be on her panel for AWP called Bullet Journaling, Car Retreats & Barney: 10 Hacks for Writing While Parenting. I wrote about it here. Melissa is an expert in developing and moderating panels because of her vast experience and she shares some of that advice here.
Melissa told me that she teaches one of my essays, Singing My Dad Back to Me, from the New York Times, and we discuss that as well in this episode.
Plus we cover:
- When it’s ok to switch genres in writing
- Melissa’s framework for writing and researching her new book
- The positive and negative aspects of writing a historical piece
- Melissa’s advice on how to write old topics from new perspectives
- Tips for submitting, moderating and titling panels
- Encouraging advice for writers at all levels
Watch on YouTube (and Subscribe)
About Melissa
Oregon-based journalist Melissa Hart is the author of seven books, including the award-winning middle-grade novels Avenging the Owl and Daisy Woodworm Changes the World, and the memoirs Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood and Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, CNN, Slate, The Washington Post, and numerous other publications. She teaches for the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Southern New Hampshire University In 2025, Sourcebooks will publish her nonfiction book Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ Stories to Change Your Mind about Disability.
Connect with Melissa
Find her book on Estelle’s Bookshop
Melissa’s story for the LA Times
What a Quail Taught Me About Grief By Joining a Flock of Turkeys
Melissa’s article for Hidden Compass
The Vaudevillian Ghosts of Liberty
Estelle’s essay that Melissa teaches
Estelle is Teaching
Sign up for Estelle’s Micro Memoir Workshop with Writer’s Digest on May 23
https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/making-your-mark-with-micro-memoir
Sign up for Estelle’s Writing Parenthood Class for NYU
https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/WRIT1-CE9225-writing-parenthood.html
Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest
https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals
Connect with Estelle
Get My Book from Bookshop: Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published
ANNOUNCEMENT: Writing That Gets Noticed is now in Poets & Writers “Best Book for Writers” and was a recent book pick in the Time is Now newsletter for Poets & Writers. I’m so honored. Thank you!
Sign up for my Substack (with craft advice and writing opportunities). My latest for subscribers is Why Taping My Podcast Reminds Me of Working in Magazines
Latest Blog Post: Don’t Miss This Day of Learning All About Memoir from the Host of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
For another episode that covers writing historical books, check out episode #58 : Writing About Historical Subjects with Audrey Clare Farley
