This weeks Tuesday Blogversation is with Erik Hare. This is the first published author for this series, and it seems like the perfect fit for Erik to be in that spot. Â A local author, blogger, and dad; he decided many years ago that he wanted to be able to pick his kids up from school everyday. Because of that he hires himself out for many things including writing to be able to accomplish that.
Erik Hare ( blog | twitter ) is a Miami native with a Chemical Engineering degree from Carnegie-Mellon University. He has 2 kids that he lives for. In 2003 after a divorce he decided to forgo a 9-5 job so that he could pick his kids up from school everyday. A published author and writer he has one published novel and has had articles published by the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, The Villager, Daily Planet, Community Reporter, and many other periodicals. He’s constantly looking for work because he’s constantly broke (and doesn’t mind admitting it).
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Your first ‘blog’ was named “Columbus Day Riot” why that name?
It’s a statement of how absurd popular culture can get. On October 12, 1944 there was a Frank Sinatra Concert where the fans mobbed Frankie so desperately afterwards that the police had to break it up. It was called the “Columbus Day Riot” in the papers.
Since the word ‘blog’ didn’t really exist yet what did you call what you were doing?
We really didn’t know. Inline links weren’t established yet, so we started out with footnotes, like an academic paper. We moved to a more newspapery format later. It was being invented as we went. What did we call it? Ming ke ming, feichang ming (the name that is is know by is not its true name, the second line of the Tao Te Ching).
Your professional history is varied, what made you choose writing instead of chemical engineering (for example)
First of all, we don’t make stuff in this nation any longer, so engineering jobs are hard to come by – of my class of 40 ChemEs at Carnegie I know of only 12 still working in the field. The biggest issue came when I was divorced and decided that, as a divorced Dad, I wanted to be available to pick my kids up from school every day. My life has been organized around that ever since, making a 9-5er difficult at best.
I read your interview with Tyler Tichelaar in 2005 regarding your book “Downriver” how has your kids getting older affected the topics you write about?
It probably hasn’t much. I do use my kids’ sense of wonder as inspiration, and often play off of their simple questions about complicated subjects as starting points. As they’ve grown, their perspective has naturally gotten deeper, so my I suppose my muse has gotten more intense.
What did it take for you to switch from short piece writing to writing a book?
Discipline! I learned the value of routine, and have written my blog every single MWF for 3 years as a result. I also learned a lot about how to edit my own stuff, which took me from “grossly inadequate” to “barely adequate”. I do think that learning how to edit your own stuff is both very hard and absolutely critical.
You accept pay for some of your writings. What’s the toughest part about finding one of those gigs?
Finding the next one! I’ll do just about anything for pay, in all honesty. I consult with small businesses and nonprofits, do social media work, and even carpetry and bar-back when I can. Struggling to make a living is just what an artist has to do. Phillip Glass drove a cab for many years.
What requirements do you have on your employer for those?
I’ve stopped chasing anything that even smells like a multi-level marketing scheme. I insist on being treated and paid as a professional or else it’s too frustrating. If I can make more money doing something else, I’m better off doing that and writing for myself on my own time.
What’s the toughest part about being a freelance writer besides finding a gig?
Good writing is simply not valued in this culture. I’d love to move to a more coaching / editing role because I do believe that this is a skill that nearly anyone can learn if they want to. But they have to want it and accept that they aren’t as good as they could be. I certainly do. But this view is very unpopular.
You mentioned one of your favorite posts is “Patriot” what makes it one of your favorites?
Because it teaches a new perspective that I believe is very useful. As much as I value Unity, or writing about one thing in any given piece, I allowed this one to drift a bit so that it encompassed the whole scope of my perspective and how I arrived at it. It also has a symmetry which I thinks to the holistic nature of my many odd philosophies.
What did you do to get noticed?
Everything is a desperate cry for attention, it seems. I’m terrible at it, too, reflecting my Plattdeutscher (Amish/Mennonite) ancestry. I hate telling people how great I am, and I do it badly. I’m happy with my progress as a writer and do well promoting other people, but I have a lot to get over when it comes to promoting myself.
What suggestions do you have for other writers regarding blogs?
The same as with any other aspect of life – strive to be a strong half-step back. The best place to be is apart from the messy part of the work just far enough to gain some perspective, but not so far back that you can’t keep your hands dirty. It’s a tricky balance, but worth working towards.
Regarding books?
Learning how to tell a story well is critical. Deep or unusual subjects are often digested best by the guts, not the head. Any fiction that is well written has something to teach a writer, even those that have much harder material to work with.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Every moment that I am alive. Stories are happening all around us constantly – little pieces of life that come our direction from places we don’t really understand at first. Filling those spaces inbetween and making sense of them seems to me to be what writing is all about.
What books do you recommend for reference or inspiration?
All of them.
Don Quixote is a favorite, and it’s where Barataria comes from. Ancient texts like the Tao Te Ching always inspire. I think any American writer has to know their Mark Twain well, too. But today’s fiction is bringing in new perspectives that illuminate lives many of us wouldn’t see otherwise – Julia Alvarez is a good example. In the end I think my own writing winds up being a cross between Márquez and Vonnegut.
What other blogs do you read?
Too many to list – I am a lectovore! I scan MinnPost constantly and read Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald the most regularly. I hit up the local places like MNSpeak, Great Divide, and the Deets at least once a week. I really like Field Negro – Field and I are like brothers at times. Jim Kunstler is also a favorite. I do encounter dozens irregularly by following links and simply looking for new perspectives when I have time or my brain needs a little stimulation.
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Tuesday Blogversation is a weekly series on iamdez.com featuring bloggers of all kinds from the Twin Cities (Minneapolis / Saint Paul) area. If you’d like to be considered for an interview please send mail to dez [at] iamdez [dot] com or get ahold of me on twitter.