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#177 The Power of Narrative Tension with Peter Mountford

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

Release Date: 02/05/2026

#188 Reclaiming “Selfish”: On Craft, Creativity, and Braiding Truth into Memoir With Kerry Docherty show art #188 Reclaiming “Selfish”: On Craft, Creativity, and Braiding Truth into Memoir With Kerry Docherty

Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

In this episode, Estelle Erasmus talks with Kerry Docherty, author of Selfish: Unlearning, Reclaiming, and Telling the Truth, about what it really takes to write a bold, emotionally honest memoir. They dive into: Why “selfish” is a loaded word for women and how to reclaim it Starting a memoir with rupture to hook the reader Using dreams, spirituality, and what Estelle calls the “echo effect” to deepen narrative impact Writing about marriage, motherhood, desire, and identity without holding back The risks and consequences of telling the truth on the page How to balance scene,...

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with literary agent Sally Ekus, senior agent at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, where she leads a boutique division specializing in cookbooks, lifestyle, and select nonfiction. With over 350 book deals under her belt and deep roots in the publishing world, Sally shares what truly makes a proposal stand out, how the industry is evolving in real time, and why enthusiasm and voice still matter more than ever. Together, Estelle and Sally explore the shift from traditional publishing models to today’s fast-paced,...

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

The words people use tell you exactly who they are, if you know how to read them. Estelle Erasmus sits down with Jennie Young, a professor of rhetoric whose “Burn the Haystack” method and Facebook group sparked a powerful movement, now captured in her book Burn the Haystack. She flips the traditional dating narrative on its head, showing women how to find their “needle” by torching the men who are duds. As a former magazine editor and longtime writing teacher, Estelle was especially drawn to how Jennie breaks down language, tone, and behavior with precision. This conversation goes far...

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

What does the rise of authorpreneurship mean for writers today? In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle Erasmus sits down with Regina Brooks, founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and president of the Association of American Literary Agents, to explore how publishing is shifting and what writers need to understand now. From what agents look for in submissions to how platform, AI, and direct-to-consumer models are reshaping the industry, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at how writers can move beyond simply writing a book to building a sustainable writing career....

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

What does it take to write about a life-altering trauma decades after it happened? In this episode, Estelle Erasmus chats with Mimi Nichter about the long arc from lived experience to the page, and what it means to revisit a moment of crisis with clarity. They talk about writing through memory, shaping a narrative around a defining event, and the emotional and craft challenges of telling a story that has festered inside for years, waiting to be heard. Mimi shares how she approached writing about being held hostage, why timing mattered, and how she transformed silence into story. In this...

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

Thinking about attending the AWP Conference and wondering how to prepare for it? With thousands of writers, panels, book fairs, and networking opportunities, AWP can feel both exciting, inspiring and a little overwhelming. That’s why it helps to have a strategy. In this solo episode of Freelance Writing Direct, host Estelle Erasmus shares how she prepared for AWP, what it was like moderating her standing-room-only panel, and the simple strategies that helped her navigate the conference with aplomb. Estelle talks through everything from packing light and bringing snacks to creating meaningful...

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

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Freelance Writing Direct with Estelle: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.

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More Episodes

Great writing doesn’t come from inventing drama. It comes from putting characters in situations where something meaningful is at stake.

In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, Estelle talks with fiction writer and essayist Peter Mountford about his short story collection Detonator and the craft choices that make stories propulsive. Mountford discusses how place shapes his fiction, drawing from lived experience in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Mexico, Scotland, and the U.S. He explains why many of the stories began as previously published pieces and how revising them later, with a teacher’s eye, changed their emotional impact.

This episode is for fiction and nonfiction writers who want their work to feel leaner, sharper, and more emotionally charged

 In this episode: 

  • How Detonator grew out of lived experience and real places [2:18]

  • Guilt, death, sex, and humor as recurring narrative forces [15:24]

  • The craft purpose of a nonfiction prologue in a fiction collection [15:55]

  • How strong hooks give writers freedom to slow down later [19:19]

  • Using secrets, requests, and moral pressure to create tension [21:06]

  • Why “mini-scenes” often work better than full narratives [25:09]

  • Revising previously published work with a teacher’s eye [27:08]

  • What makes Modern Love–style essays pitchable and effective [30:15]

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FvZLi7ehvdA

 

About Peter:

Peter Mountford is the author of the novels A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism (Washington State Book Award), The Dismal Science (NYT editor's choice), and his latest, a collection of short stories, Detonator (now out from Four Way Books). His work has appeared in the New York Times (Modern Love), Paris Review, Southern Review, The Atlantic, The Sun, Ploughshares, and Guernica. He teaches at University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe's MFA, and through Mountford Writing.

 

Connect with Peter: 

Website: https://www.petermountford.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountfordwriting/?hl=en

Detonator: https://www.petermountford.com/detonator

Coaching & Classes: https://www.mountfordwriting.com/

Modern Love Self Guided Class: https://www.mountfordwriting.com/how-to-write-a-new-york-times-modern-love-essay

 

Get More from Estelle

About Estelle

Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An 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 has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.

 

Follow Estelle:

• Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus

• TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus

• Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus

• BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social