Listen:
The timing of this episode couldn’t be better—it coincides with the start of the AWP Conference, which is being held this year in Los Angeles. While I won’t be attending AWP this time around, I have a very good reason: on Saturday, I’ll be giving a TEDx Talk at Boston College (more on that below).
Last year’s AWP was especially memorable because it’s where I first met Nicole Graev Lipson at a fantastic offsite event (here’s a write-up of what I did at AWP 2024). Nicole told me about her then-forthcoming memoir-in-essays—and the rest, as they say, is history. She’s since received so many well-deserved accolades for the book, and I’m thrilled to feature her here.
In This Episode
-
The organizing principle of Mothers and Other Fictional Characters and how personal essays that started with confusion or a question became a cohesive book [3:00]
-
How Nicole layered literary themes and archetypes into her book along with real life situations [7:56]
-
The complexity of intergenerational relationships, particularly with mothers and fathers [11:48]
-
The duality of embracing and resisting traditional gender roles [16:34]
-
How to write emotional scenes from everyday moments [22:21]
-
Advice for writers on structuring essays, capturing sensory details, and writing an accumulation of small moments [41:03]
Watch on YouTube
About Nicole Graev Lipson
Nicole Graev Lipson is the author of the memoir in essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Her writing has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Marie Claire, among other venues. Her work has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, shortlisted for a National Magazine Award, and selected for The Best American Essays anthology. She lives outside of Boston with her husband and children.
Connect with Nicole
Subscribe to Nicole’s newsletter
Buy her book on Estelle’s Bookshop
Other episodes mentioned in this one
Maggie Smith: Episode #81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story
Joanna Rakoff: Episode #87 Writing Memoir that Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page
Kelly McMasters: Episode #39 The Literary Gifts of The Leaving Season
Christie Tate: Episode #123 Writing About Trauma Using Timelines, Throughlines, and Imagery
Nicole’s Pushcart- Prize winning essay “Tikkun Olam Ted” that was in River Teeth Journal in Zibby Mag
Connect with Estelle
My TEDx Talk
I’m so excited to be speaking at the TEDx Boston College event on March 29th! My talk is titled How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. This is the image they’re using to promote the event, and here’s the link to get tickets if you’ll be in the Boston area.
This is such a meaningful moment for me—made even more poignant by the recent loss of my dad. I know he’ll be watching and cheering me on from above this Saturday.
Get Writing That Gets Noticed, named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine.
Order the Audiobook
Sign up for Estelle’s Substack(for craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests.
Read Estelle’s latest post on Substack (and an offer to paid subscribers) 5 Hard Truths about Essay Writing
Classes
Email her at [email protected] to get on the list for her next personal essay writing class (in October) and find out how to secure your spot.
Her newest NYU class now taking registrations is Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles.
Webinars
Grab your spot for the next editor-on-call event in partnership with NYU. Estelle will be in conversation with Willa Bennett, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines. Register here before space runs out.
Sign up for her Webinar on April 24th from 1:00-2:30 pm ET for Writer’s Digest: Layering Throughlines and Timelines into Your Essays and Books to Pack a Punch. It will be generative, informational, and interactive.
