Estelle

#165 Giving Every Character Main Character Energy in Your Novel with Denne Michele Norris

Denne Michele Norris joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about what it means to give every character main character energy, writing character-first fiction, crafting intimacy and “spicy” scenes with emotional depth, using dialogue as a tool for revelation, switching scenes for maximum impact, finding the story’s three-part structure, discovering the novel’s spine through revision, transforming autobiography into art, and her luminous debut When the Harvest Comes.…

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#164 Writing the Restorative Memoir: Finding Meaning in the Messy Middle of Recovery with Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about writing from the in-between—the liminal space between illness and full recovery.…

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#163 Writing the Unresolved Story: Trying and Telling the Unvarnished Truth Featuring Chloé Caldwell

On Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus chats with Chloé Caldwell, author of Trying, about what happens when your life unravels mid-book—and you have to rewrite the story you thought you were living.…

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#162 Lessons from the People of Publishing Conference

In this solo episode, I share insider takeaways and Estelle’s Edge insights from the inaugural People of Publishing Conference in New York City.…

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#161 From Nonfiction to Paranormal Women’s Fiction: Genre-Switching and the Freedom of Self-Publishing with Olga Mecking

What happens when a nonfiction writer lets herself play with magic? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus chats with Olga Mecking about trusting reinvention, midlife heroines, and the freedom that comes from writing on your own terms.…

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#160 How Flash Nonfiction and Metaphor Turn Small Moments into Big Meaning

Freelance Writing Direct chats with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about flash nonfiction, the craft of metaphor, and how to braid the “unaware” and “aware” voices to create resonance.…

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#159 Writing the Body as Memoir with Nina B. Lichtenstein

Estelle Erasmus chats with Nina B. Lichtenstein about using the body as a framework for memoir, why senses like smell and music unlock memory, the role of empathy in writing about others, and how structure can emerge through essays.”…

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#158 Kaila Yu on Fetishization, Feminism, and Memoir as Reckoning

Journalist and former rock singer Kaila Yu joins Freelance Writing Direct to chat about her debut memoir Fetishized (Crown Publishing) and how memoir can be a reckoning with culture and the self.…

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#157 Inside the Mind of a Literary Agent: Sam Hiyate on Selling Books, Pitching, and Breaking Into Hollywood

On Freelance Writing Direct, Sam Hiyate, President & CEO of The Rights Factory, breaks down what’s driving publishing today—from market trends to what agents (and Hollywood) want—revealing insights every writer should know.…

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#156 Finding Yourself After Faking It: Sari Botton on Memoir, Honesty, and Editing

Sari Botton joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about why memoirs shine when they reveal the ordinary, how she found the right structure for her story, writing a fearless “vomit draft,” balancing honesty with protecting others, and building community through her Substack publications Oldster, Memoir Land, and Adventures in Journalism.…

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#155 Breaking the Rules of Publishing with Jane Pratt: From Sassy to Substack

Jane Pratt joins Freelance Writing Direct for a conversation about breaking the rules of publishing and centering women’s voices, launching Sassy and why it struck a chord with a generation of teen girls, creating the groundbreaking “It Happened to Me” column, tackling taboo topics like abortion and birth control in a teen magazine, building community by jumping into the comments, moving from print to Substack and why it feels like her most authentic home, starting her new Controversial Books Only Book Club, and reflecting on a career spent making confessional storytelling both vital and irresistible.…

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#154 How to Engineer Your Memoir with Wendy Dale

Estelle Erasmus chats with memoir coach Wendy Dale about sidestepping mistakes and shaping your life story into a compelling memoir.…

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