Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts. #100 The Pleasure, Practice and Purpose of Writing Micro-Memoir Featuring Beth Ann Fennelly
Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021, teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi where she is a four-time teaching award winner. She's received grants from the N.E.A., the United States Artists, the Academy of American Poets, and a Fulbright to Brazil. Her work has won a Pushcart Prize and three times been included in The Best American Poetry Series. Fennelly has published three poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables, and a book of nonfiction, Great with Child, all published with W. W. Norton. A novel she co-authored with her husband, Tom Franklin, called The Tilted World, was published by HarperCollins. Her sixth book, Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs (W. W. Norton), was named an Atlanta Journal Constitution Best Book, a Goodreaders Favorite for 2017, and the winner of the Housatonic Book Prize. Fennelly and Franklin live in Oxford with their three children.
In this episode:
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Beth Ann's writing journey [5:29]
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Coining the concept of micro memoir [8:00]
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Taking personal anecdotes and making them resonate [8:37]
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The evolution of how Beth Ann structured her book [9:00]
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Crafting through lines with purpose [15:28]
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The art of collaborating with a partner on a novel and how Beth Ann made it work [15:28]
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Why you can't ignore the concept of fun when it comes to writing [19:43]
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Why transitions need to be addressed carefully [24:42]
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Establishing an effective writing practice [28:00]
Connect with Beth Ann Fennelly
Website: https://www.bethannfennelly.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bethann.fennelly.9
Instagram: https://instagram.com/bethannfennelly
Listen to her TedX Talk
How Literature Can Help Us Develop Empathy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJv8sxpUKU&t=334s
See Her Talk for The Moth
The Proper Time to Eat
https://themoth.org/stories/the-proper-time-to-eat
Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs and The Tilted World on Estelle's Bookshop
https://bookshop.org/shop/EstelleSErasmus
Connect with Estelle:
Estelle's New York Times Essay Singing My Dad Back to Me
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/well/family/singing-my-dad-back-to-me.html
Episodes Referenced Here
Joanna Rakoff
Episode #87 Writing Memoir That Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page
Maggie Smith
Episode #81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story
https://estelleserasmus.com/81-the-art-of-shaping-a-compelling-story-featuring-maggie-smith/
Ann Hood
Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels https://estelleserasmus.com/95-the-catalysts-and-craft-for-charting-and-plotting-novels-featuring-ann-hood/
Episode #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood
https://estelleserasmus.com/35-flying-high-with-storyteller-ann-hood/
FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at
https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter.
Sign up for Estelle's Personal Essay Class for Writer's Digest
https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals
See Estelle's latest blog post with news
https://estelleserasmus.com/a-few-pieces-of-exciting-news/
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Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests
Estelle's latest substack post on Micro Memoir
https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/if-you-are-writing-a-micro-memoir
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