Listen:
I met Ruth decades ago when we both worked for Bauer Publishing. She was at First, and I was at Woman’s World. We reconnected last year when she attended my session on Micro Memoir at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop where I was faculty, and she was a first time attendee and we found out that we are also neighbors. A few months later we had lunch around the time her debut novel The Bulgarian Training Manual was published to great acclaim.
Later, I was honored when she asked me to interview her at a book event at Little City Books in Hoboken.
We are both speakers at the ASJA Virtual Conference (Ruth was part of a panel called “It Takes a Village.”
I am the closing session of the conference in a fireside chat today with Abigail Thomas (listen to my podcast episode #83 with Abby here, where we are talking about sliding into story through a side door.
I am thrilled to bring you Ruth and her fabulous novel.
In This Episode
-
The concept of The Bulgarian Training Manual, and how it morphed from a short story to a full length book
-
Putting local angle, sites, personalities and pop culture into a novel
-
Imbuing research into a fictional story
-
Advice from a popular novelist that gave Ruth the freedom to write without worry
-
Incorporating magic, fairy tales, myth and archetypes into story
-
Ambiguity and shape shifting as a throughline and plot device
-
Focusing on characters’ organic transformations
-
Working speculative elements and whimsy into a story
-
The historical genesis of the fad diet from the book
-
The power of going down rabbit holes while writing
-
How Ruth found her publisher, Clash Books
Watch on YouTube
About Ruth
Ruth Bonapace’s surrealistic comic novel The Bulgarian Training Manual is an Elle Magazine 2024 top summer read. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “whimsical delight.” Her work has appeared in The Southampton Review, The Saturday Evening Post, Hippocampus, The New York Times and elsewhere. A former women’s magazine editor and sports writer, Ruth has an MFA from Stony Brook University.
Connect with Ruth
Get Ruth’s Book on Estelle’s Bookshop
Other Episodes Referred to In This One
Episode #89 Level Up Your Novel By Mastering Visual Imagery and Research Featuring Amanda Churchill
Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels Featuring Ann Hood
Episode #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood
Connect with Estelle
Get My Book: Writing That Gets Noticed
Sign up for my Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests
Sign up for My Class at NYU: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles
Sign up for my Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest
On the Horizon
I will be doing THE CLOSING SESSION of the ASJA virtual conference on September 26th with my friend and renowned memoirist Abigail Thomas. Read 8 Things You Didn’t Know about Abigail Thomas and Estelle Erasmus where we talk tarot, smells, seeing the sea turtle’s hatch, going through the slush pile and more.
Join me for my CRAFT TALKS webinar, Tantalizing Titles, to learn to write compelling headlines and titles for successful pitches to—and publication in—mainstream media. 3PM Eastern time October 2nd ($15 early bird) October 2. Its’ $25. Register here.
Read
I wrote a piece for Brevity called A Good Title is Vital: Getting the Hang of Writing Headlines. Read it here
Want to Get Into The Cut? My latest Substack post covers all you need to know about writing for New York Magazine’s The Cut, based on my popular NYU Editor-on-call series, where I spoke with the deputy editor. Read it here and sign up for craft advice, and for paid subscribers, bonus clips and editing opportunities with yours truly.
Listen
I was on the brilliant Aliza Licht’s podcast Leave Your Mark talking about voice, pitching, making an impact with your writing, and more. Listen here and follow her podcast. More on me and lots of takeaway tips from my episode on her LinkedIn page.
Follow Me
