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What happens when a personal challenge becomes a path back to yourself?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, I speak with Kate Washington, author of Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims, about how a challenge to swim in 50 natural bodies of water before turning 50 became a memoir about midlife, change, and self-rediscovery.
Kate shares how she blended personal narrative with nature writing, history, science, feminist thought, and literary criticism. She also discusses cutting 20,000 words, maintaining chronological momentum, using sensory detail, and writing candidly about divorce, family, and the life of the body.
In this episode:
- How Kate’s 50 Dunks Challenge became the structure for Midstream
- How to weave research and cultural context into memoir without overwhelming the personal story
- How chronology, scene, and sensory detail can maintain narrative momentum
- How to decide what to cut when themes or events begin to repeat
- Why following your deepest curiosities can make a personal story more universal
Book Giveaway
Follow me on Instagram, and write Midstream on my post about episode #203 to be entered to win your copy of Midstream. You must have a mailing address in the Continental USA. The giveaway ends August 12th. Good luck!
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About Kate
Kate Washington is the author of Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims and Already Toast. She is a frequent speaker about her experience as a caregiver, and her creative nonfiction, essays, and long-form work have appeared in The New York Times, Time, HuffPost, and many other outlets. She lives in Sacramento, California. Connect with her at kawashington.com.
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Get More From Estelle Erasmus
My latest substack post is Musings on Magazines: The Behind-the-Scenes Tea From the Print Magazines You Loved to Read (and a Book Giveaway) Also follow me on Instagram to submit to a giveaway for Kate’s book. Sign up to get all my craft, pitching and publishing posts.
My next Editor-on-Call event with NYU is on Wednesday, September 16, with Electric Literature Executive Editor and Publisher Denne Michele Norris. Sign up here: https://events.nyu.edu/event/400238-light-up-your-literary-life-with-electric-literatures
Private Small-Group Memoir/Essay Class
My next six-week session beginning in September 2026 is sold out. Please email me to be added to the waiting list for the next session. Contact freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details.
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Estelle’s TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond
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Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers “Best Book for Writers.”
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Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 Podcast of the Year, Business (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast
About Estelle
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of Writing That Gets Noticed. She is the host, founder, and executive producer of Freelance Writing Direct, an adjunct professor at NYU, and the former editor-in-chief of five national magazines with a combined reach of 10 million readers.
Her work has appeared in more than 150 publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine.
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