Listen:
Modern Love essays aren’t accidents, they’re built from a bold hook, clear structure, and often, the courage to write through grief.
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, I chat with my student, writer Leslie B. Blanchard, about the journey of her New York Times Modern Love essay, “Negotiating the End of Us,” from a quick in-class prompt to publication.
Leslie shares how the opening line “He always said he would die young” became the spine of the piece, and how focusing on the negotiation around death made her grief story stand out in an inbox flooded with loss. As I often teach my students, the right entry point can transform a personal story into one an editor cannot ignore, and Leslie’s piece is a powerful example of that.
This episode is for writers who want to turn deeply personal material into publishable essays—and need to see exactly how community, revision, and coaching make that possible.
Leslie described the workshop process this way, and I think her words capture the heart of how we worked together:
I truly believe there is a story in all of us that wants to be told. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding your authentic voice. I recently had the honor of being published in the New York Times Modern Love, which was a life goal. The piece started with a prompt from Estelle Erasmus in her writing class and developed from there as we workshopped every angle together.
What makes the process work is that Estelle gets to know her students in a way that allows her to guide them and help unlock their strongest work. This is the key to crafting an essay that “gets noticed” in this highly competitive field.” — Leslie B. Blanchard
In This Episode
- How a 10-minute classroom exercise grew into a Modern Love essay
- Why a specific, original hook is essential when writing about grief
- How Leslie found the structure and emotional center of her piece
- Craft choices that tightened the piece: cutting digressions, choosing one central metaphor, and having “bargaining” in the final line.
- How workshops, careful line edits, community, and supportive coaching can turn a private story into a publishable essay and help a writer trust their voice.
Watch on YouTube
About Leslie B. Blanchard
Leslie tackles the complexities of marriage and child-rearing with a transparency that will leave you simultaneously laughing as you brush away tears. She began writing about marriage to her high school sweetheart and life raising 5 children. She’s since added the grief of widowhood, joy of grandchildren and comfort of remarriage to her cache of insights. She’s been interviewed on NPR, spoken at “Listen To Your Mother” and been published in The New York Times’ Modern Love, Next Avenue, Huffington Post, BonBon Break, Today Parenting, Your Teen Magazine and Scary Mommy. She also a collaborated on, “Lose The Cape – It’s a Teen Thing!”
Connect with Leslie
Read Her Modern Love essay: Negotiating the End of Us
Get More from Estelle
NYU (Zoom), 6-week course: Writing About Your Life Through Memoir, Essays & Articles — Register Here.
Private small-group memoir class: January sold out in 4 days; and March in a week. The next 6-week session starts May 2026. To secure your spot, email me freelancewritingdirect@gmail.
NEW Substack Post: How to Pitch Slate: Advice, Ideas and Examples For Writing Essays and Articles From My NYU Editor-on-Call Event:
If you missed my Editor-on-Call session with Slate’s Rebecca Onion, I put together a recap with everything writers need to know—rates, story types, what they’re commissioning, and the pitch mistakes editors see most often.
For my yearly paid subscribers, I’m also offering a limited number of pitch/essay reviews connected to the post. I love being able to support writers this way.
My Latest Craft Essay
Open Secrets Magazine featured my newest craft essay, “How to Make Concessions When Writing Confessions.”
In it, I explore how personal essayists can strike the right balance between honesty and discernment—what to reveal, what to withhold, and how thoughtful concessions can actually elevate the emotional power of your story. This is a resource for those polishing those end of year essays.
Student Work
Davina Sambath
Working with Davina throughout my workshop was one of the great joys of teaching this year. She wrote essays that were thoughtful, brave, and emotionally resonant, and it was inspiring to see them deepen through revision.
Her work received two major recognitions:
• Trying to Explain Genocide to a Six-Year-Old was named runner-up for the Kenyon Review Short Non-Fiction Contest.
• A Love Letter to My Mac Yeay was selected as a finalist for The Audacity’s Love Letter Contest, chosen by Roxane Gay.
Davina writes with clarity, depth, and tremendous heart.
Learn more about Davina on her website
Leslie Blanchard
Leslie wrote her New York Times Modern Love essay in my workshop, bringing humor, insight, and emotional clarity to a story about caregiving, family, and love. Watching her refine the piece draft by draft was remarkable, and it was a joy to see the final version published in The New York Times. She is in Episode #168 detailing her journey toward publication, working with me.
Read her Modern Love essay: Negotiating The End of Us
Linda Wolff
Linda wrote her Business Insider essay in my workshop, crafting a deeply honest and tender exploration of her mother’s death and the emotional weight of sorting through a lifetime of belongings. The piece moved me, both as a reader and as her teacher, and it made me think more deeply about the objects we keep and the stories they carry.
Read her essay: When my mom died, sorting through her belongings was overwhelming. I’m determined not to burden my children in the same way.
Explore More
- 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook
- 🎤 Watch Estelle’s TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond
- 📰 Subscribe on Substack: https://estelleserasmus.substack.com
Latest posts: “Why Every Memoir Needs the “Echo Effect”, When Writers Are the Ones Blocking the Page: 6 Ways to Move Forward (and An Offer); Stop Counting Your Words. Start Shaping Your Story” and “How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen” - 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast
About Estelle
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She’s served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.
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