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Friday Find: Robert Caro on the Sense of Place

by Erika Dreifus on
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If you have some time to watch and/or listen this weekend, I recommend that you treat yourself to a video of Robert Caro speaking on “sense of place”: “Great books give their readers a sense of place to be able to see clearly, as though they were there,” Caro said, “and that sense of place is just as important for nonfiction as it is for fiction.”

Caro delivered the speech upon accepting the Biographers International Organization (BIO) Award at the Compleat Biographer Conference in Washington this past spring.

Enjoy, and see you back here on Monday

The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
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  • One reason that I love Midge Raymond’s latest writing prompt is that the story I’m drafting right now actually began with the working title, “Mistake.” (It may return to that title, too, but for now it’s got another name.)
  • Coming soon in The Writer: my review of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, by Christopher Johnson. Curious about this book? You can win one of 20 free copies via Goodreads! Enter by July 16 (U.S. addresses only).
  • The Story Prize blog is featuring a series of posts (mini-essays and Q&As) with the authors of collections that have been submitted for the 2011 prize. These posts make for great and thoughtful reading. See, for instance, Charles Baxter’s response to the question “What do you think a good short story collection should deliver?”.
  • I’ll be mentioning this again on my other blog, but I’m delighted to learn that poet and professor Rick Chess has joined the team over on Good Letters, the blog of the literary journal Image, which prides itself on presenting “the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith.”
  • Basic guidelines for social media etiquette, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer.

    • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
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  • Advice for poets, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer and Poetic Asides.
  • Kelly James-Enger shares the state of her freelancing income.
  • Speaking of freelancing income–check out these “7 Ways Freelance Writers Can Find Better Pay.”
  • Will fall find you teaching at night? Consider these strategies to stay energetic.
  • Can’t wait for the next issue of The Writer to arrive. The article on day jobs that is mentioned in Jeff Reich’s Editor’s Notes has piqued my interest!
  • So grateful to David Abrams for counting Quiet Americans among “the best books of the year (so far).”
  • And I’m grateful to Dory Adams for soliciting my guest post, “Mannheim in Pictures and Prose,” for her inspirational In This Light blog, which features “images and narrative.”

    • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
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  • Author Ellen Meeropol asks: “How is a blog like a Tupperware party?”
  • Fab post on book promotion from Randy Susan Meyers for Beyond the Margins.
  • Ever wondered how much an editor should charge?
  • Attention, freelancers (especially newbies)! Carol Tice shows you how to “Avoid Hassles with a Writer’s Basic Assignment Checklist.
  • Joe Ponepinto suggests that when we need writing prompts, we should head to Home Depot.
  • Natalie Wexler considers “how much freedom should a writer exercise in playing around with historical fact.”
  • Poet Kelli Russell Agodon explains why she has a Facebook page (and why other authors, poets, and writers should have them, too. (Have you seen mine?)