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

#106 Forays Into The Surreal Juxtaposition of Fiction and Fact in a Novel Featuring Ruth Bonapace

26 Sep 2024 • 29 min • EN

Ruth Bonapace’s surrealistic comic novel The Bulgarian Training Manual is an Elle Magazine 2024 top summer read. Publisher’s Weekly called it a “whimsical delight.” Her work has appeared in The Southampton Review, The Saturday Evening Post, Hippocampus, The New York Times and elsewhere. A former women's magazine editor and sports writer, Ruth has an MFA from Stony Brook University. In this episode: The concept of The Bulgarian Training Manual, and how it morphed from a short story to a full length book Putting local angle, sites, personalities and pop culture into a novel Imbuing research into a fictional story Advice from a popular novelist that gave Ruth the freedom to write without worry Incorporating magic, fairy tales, myth and archetypes into story Ambiguity and shape shifting as a throughline and plot device Focusing on characters’ organic transformations Working speculative elements and whimsy into a story The historical genesis of the fad diet from the book The power of going down rabbit holes while writing How Ruth found her publisher, Clash Books Other episodes referred to: Episode #89 Level Up Your Novel By Mastering Visual Imagery and Research Featuring Amanda Churchill https://estelleserasmus.com/89-level-up-your-novel-by-mastering-visual-imagery-and-research/ Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels Featuring Ann Hood 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/ Connect with Ruth Website: https://www.ruthbonapace.com X: https://x.com/ruthbonapace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthbonapace/ Connect with Estelle 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 Get Her Book Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0 Order Her Audiobook: https://shorturl.at/4uG2P 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. Her latest post is on How to Pitch The Cut https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-the-cut-advice-ideas?r=aydx Take Estelle’s Tantalizing Titles Craft Talk Webinar on October 2nd and learn to write compelling headlines for your essays and articles https://craft-talks.com/event/tantalizing-titles/ Read her article A Good Title Is Vital: Getting The Hang of Writing Headlines on the Brevity Blog https://brevity.wordpress.com/2024/09/19/a-good-title/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFY9uJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdGEWO7rDBO8DFsPsPtmbO6xCZnqHdgQQ36iq_vNZP3xdgRjdz2AkPoHeg_aem_mBJph-U49oW2NCRDpG4aQg Follow Her on Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus

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