#160 How Flash Nonfiction and Metaphor Turn Small Moments into Big Meaning with Sue William Silverman

What if the truest story of your life lives in a single image, like a photo-booth strip, a tarnished bracelet, a goldfish bowl?

In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus talks with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about her new collection, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader. We unpack how flash nonfiction works, why metaphor is your most powerful craft tool, and how to braid the "unaware" and "aware" voices to create resonance—fast.

Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader, is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul, won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women's Literature. Other works include Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction, made into a Lifetime TV movie; Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, which won the AWP Award; The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew; and Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir. She's co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.

Watch on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0SKyHhR98k

Connect with Sue:

Website: https://www.suewilliamsilverman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SueWilliamSilverman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suewilliamsilverman/

Get More from Estelle:

Webinar: Sign up for Estelle's webinar on October 9th in collaboration with Writer's Digest

Mapping Your Memoir: How to Find the Heart and Shape of Your Story

https://writersdigestuniversity.mykajabi.com/mapping-your-memoir

Register for a free online Editor-on-Call NYU event on October 29th: Inside Slate an Unfiltered Conversation with Senior Editor, Rebecca Onion.https://events.nyu.edu/event/368190-editor-on-call-inside-slate-an-unfiltered.

New Substack post: Why Every Memoir Needs the "Echo Effect". https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-every-memoir-needs-the-echo-effect

🎤 TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond Estelle blends personal storytelling with actionable strategies for standing out—starting with a chaotic moment involving Thomas the Tank Engine. 📺 Watch, comment, and share

📬 Newsletter + FREE Pitching Guide Find out more about this episode and get Estelle's free pitching guide when you sign up for her newsletter: https://estelleserasmus.com/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.

Explore More:

• 📘 Writing That Gets Noticed – Buy the book | Audiobook

• 📰 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); "How to Get Published in Cosmopolitan or Seventeen"

• 🎧 More episodes: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast

• Read Estelle's latest article How to Use the Internet to Become Your Own Private Investigator (Next Avenue/PBS)

Follow Estelle:

• Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus

• TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus

• Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus

• BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social