#138 Making Memoir Peculiar — and Propulsive Featuring Dinty W. Moore

Listen:

What gives memoir its momentum—and its magic? And what if the very structure you’re resisting is exactly what your story needs?

Before we dive in…✨New TEDx Talk!
I share a deeply personal story—and the actionable lessons I teach at NYU and in Writing That Gets Noticed—in my TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Please watch to the end (that’s what counts!), and if it resonates, I’d be so grateful for a comment on YouTube and a share with someone who could use a boost of clarity or courage.

Now, on to today’s guest—someone who’s helped shape the voice of modern memoir…

In this episode, I talk with the legendary Dinty W. Moore about how to shape scenes that move, lean into voice and vulnerability, and build the kind of tension that keeps readers turning pages. Dinty also shares his best craft insights, revision tips, and the surprising ingredient every great memoir needs.

I’ve long admired Dinty’s work, and it was a joy to explore what makes him such a powerful writer—and an even more generous teacher.

In This Episode

• How Brevity began and why it still matters [2:37]
• Dinty’s philosophy on truth, memory, and writing nonfiction [7:53]
• The mistake many memoirists make with voice—and how to fix it [10:56]
• Why structure often emerges after the writing [12:31]
• How to excavate childhood memories with sensory detail [18:30]
• The connection between humor and grief in storytelling [24:50]
• What he’s learned from years of revising, publishing, and teaching[26:31]

Watch on YouTube

About Dinty W. Moore

Dinty W. Moore is author of the memoirs Between Panic & Desire and To Hell With It, and the writing guides Crafting the Personal Essay and The Mindful Writer, among other books. He has published essays and stories in Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, Georgia Review, Kenyon Review, Short Reads, and elsewhere. He is founding editor of Brevity, the journal of flash nonfiction.

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) How to Get Published in Cosmpolitan or Seventeen

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 fiction class is in September.

Her newest NYU class now taking registrations is Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays and Articles.