What pleases you about the way your essay turned out? Are there any ways in which you feel it fell short of your original goal?

Given more time with my subject, I would have liked to push some of the ideas raised in the essay a bit further, for example, thoughts about a writer's versatility/flexibility. I was pleased, however, with the way in which the piece conveyed a sort of map of the successful development of a young writer's voice and career. I think Frey's story is an encouraging one.

How did your essay develop, both in your initial thinking about it and in the revision process? What happened in the writing of it that you didn't expect would happen?

I think the revision process forced the piece into sharper focus, gave it a clearer shape than the general overview with which I began. Never having written a profile before, I was surprised to find that I had some unconscious assumptions about things like tone and was glad to find, over the course of revising, that I could let go of these ideas.

How does your experience writing in creative nonfiction depend upon or depart from your work in other genres (poetry, fiction, playwriting, literary criticism)?

All genres share the need for a writer's attention to elements such as clarity, strength of voice, focus, and willingness to look at a piece in a new way. I find this to be true whether developing a character in a work of fiction, or ridding a journalistic piece of extraneous information--no matter how enamored of particular sentences I might be.

Speculate about creative nonfiction as an emerging genre in American literature. Where do you see it going in the next several years, or even farther down the line?

As nonfiction in general becomes more popular among the book-buying public, I hope to see some of the assumptions and hierarchies related to craft, which separate the genres in terms of appeal, fall away. Nonfiction writing is creative, artful, entertaining, as well as informative, and certainly does not have to be relegated in the minds of readers to straight news, academic, or information-only type reading.

What advice do you offer young people interested in writing?

I would advise those interested in writing to read as much good writing as possible, in all genres. I think this is the best way to absorb an understanding of what makes a piece of writing strong, worthwhile. And the other part is simply to write, to try to keep a journal, to read their own writing aloud--even to themselves (much more revealing and helpful than silent reading)--to give themselves a chance to find their voice. Like painting, gymnastics, ballet, writing is a skill that requires discipline, concentration, and practice. Young writers shouldn't be discouraged by the fallacy that it's all about effortless inspiration.