Podcast: Behind the Essay No. 3
In Episode 55 and we are bringing you another installment in the ‘Behind the Essay’ podcast series. We’ve invited Callie Feyen to talk about her essay The Society of Breaking Hearts: A Plenary Address that ran in November of 2021 on C+C. We’ve heard this series is remarkably helpful to you, and we’re so glad. Our hope is that you can learn from it while also getting to see the ‘at the desk’ work a writer puts into their essays published on C+C—from how the essay came to be, idea to first draft, the intentional writing craft choices the author made, editing decisions and how it gets polished up and ready for publication.
If you've missed the first two episodes of this series, go back and listen to Ep. 40 where Abbie interviews me about my essay Will the Mom Know What To Do and Ep. 47 where Abbie and I interview Adrienne about her essay Soul Leaves Body.
Craft Moves Callie Mentioned:
Ground grand, abstract statements in your writing by pairing them with sensory, specific language.
Before submitting, read your piece out loud.
Pay close attention to intros and endings—consider how you’re inviting readers in and what you’re leaving them with.
No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. —Robert Frost
Resources Callie mentioned:
Gary Schmidtt The Wednesday Wars
Brian Doyle Grace Notes
Beth Kephart Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir
“Reason is the natural organ of truth, imagination is the organ of meaning. — CS Lewis
Creative Prompt: Use one of the following imagined structures to frame your next essay.
write a plenary address
write a letter to your younger self
write a help wanted ad
write a story that begins “Once upon a time…”
write an email excuse to your child’s teacher
write an amazon review for a product you use
write a Yelp comment, å la David Sedaris
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