What makes humor work on the page? And how do you write about love after the meet-cute, when a relationship has lasted for decades?
In this episode of Freelance Writing Direct, I talk with New York Times bestselling author Steven Rowley about his new novel, Take Me With You, a love story with a touch of science fiction that asks a fascinating question: If you had the chance to leave everything behind and explore the unknown, would you go?
We talk about how Steven builds a novel around an organizing question, why he prefers writing without a detailed outline, how he creates humor from character rather than jokes, and what writers can learn from using humor to explore serious subjects. We also discuss writing relationships that evolve over time and why life experience can be an asset for writers.
In this episode:
- How to find the central question that drives a novel
- Why Steven writes toward an ending without heavily outlining
- How humor can help writers get closer to emotional truth
- Why character-based humor has staying power
- How to differentiate characters and show them changing over time
- Why writers shouldn't worry if publishing success comes later in life
Watch on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJietLH7PfE
About Steven Rowley
Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post notable book; The Editor, named one of NPR's best books of 2019; The Guncle, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor; and the instant USA Today bestsellers The Guncle Abroad and The Dogs of Venice. His fiction has been published in twenty languages. Originally from Portland, Maine, he is a graduate of Emerson College and lives in Palm Springs with his husband, writer Byron Lane, and their three rescue dogs.
Link
Website: https://www.stevenrowley.com
Get More From Estelle Erasmus
My latest Substack post is the Substack Live I did with Aliza Licht on DKNY PR GIRL, the magazine world we both knew, branding and reinvention, and her Substack serial novel Off the Record, which brings that era vividly back to life.
Private Small-Group Memoir/Essay Class
My next six-week session beginning in September 2026 is sold out. Please email me to be added to the waiting list for the next session. Contact freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details.
Meet Estelle at An Event
- Editor-on-Call event with NYU, Electric Literature, September 16, 12;30-1:30 pm ET (virtual)
- AALA's, People of Publishing (NYC), September 30, 2026 (attending as press)
- Women's Media Group panel (NYC), Memoir Plus: When Personal Stories Contain Magnitudes, October 21, 2026
- Writer's Digest Webinar, The First Five Pages: Making Your Memoir Impossible to Put Down, October 29, 2026
- Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) ( Chicago), March 17-20, 2027
Watch
Estelle's TEDx Talk: How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond
Book
Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers."
Listen/Watch
Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2026 Podcast of the Year, Business (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast
About Estelle
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, TEDx speaker, and author of Writing That Gets Noticed. She is the host, founder, and executive producer of Freelance Writing Direct, an adjunct professor at NYU, and the former editor-in-chief of five national magazines with a combined reach of 10 million readers.
Her work has appeared in more than 150 publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine.
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