Erika Dreifus teaches writing, blogs about writing, and writes books about writing. In short, she knows writing. "I try to cover all the bases, providing resources for the poets, fictionists, and creative nonfiction writers," Dreifus told me. "Being sure to cover both 'craft' and 'business' matters in the process."
It sounds so simple to hear an expert talk about combining "craft" and "business," but I'll tell you, it's the hardest part of our job. I floundered a long time in New York City before I could even come close to supporting myself with writing. Despite generations of starved Bohemians, it's hard to write when you're hungry and un-insured.
Dreifus and her resources can help us get past that first, difficult step in a writing career. That's why I chose her for my deceptively simple feature: Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.
Jason Boog:
Who are your favorite writers with websites? What are your favorite writing resources on the web? Why do you like them?
Erika Dreifus:
I've admired Rebecca McClanahan's Web site for awhile . It offers a nice overview of her considerable accomplishments (including plenty of links to work published online), plus more recent "news," and it definitely presents a professional tone for services and book sales. At the moment, however, I seem to visit literary/writing blogs and individual book sites more frequently than I visit writers' own sites. One is Dan Wickett's Emerging Writers' Network blog. Dan is an indefatigable reader of and advocate for great new "literary" writing, which is itself very affirming. And I particularly enjoy his e-panel interviews with literary journal editors and interviews with individual authors.
Then there's Claire Zulkey's MBToolBox over at MediaBistro.com, for writers and journalists. As its title suggests, this blog highlights helpful tips and tools for writers from around the Web. Some of the specifically MediaBistro content Claire links to is limited to paid subscribers, but much of it is free.
As for book-focused sites, my favorite at the moment is the site for Ken Dornstein's The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky. The book deals with some very difficult subject matter (the eponymous Boy is Dornstein's elder brother, David, who was killed on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie). But the site actually contains a surprising element of humor, plus a wonderful video preview.
I'm always looking for excellent writing resources on the Web, and I feature one in each issue of the newsletter. You can find an ongoing list on The Practicing Writer's Resources Page.
Jason, thanks for this interesting interview. I find it also helps to read many good blogs -- such as yours -- to get a wider view of what it takes to do it well. I am less agile at getting a way to access blogs out there -- beyond KMM. Any ideas for a faster daily look at blogs that work well?
Posted by: Ellen Weber | April 23, 2006 5:22 AM | Permalink to Comment