Writing Exercise: Interviewing
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- 1/7/2010 |
- 10:00 am
This month we're going to focus on a skill that the very best writers have learned to appreciate and use to their advantage. It's the fine of interviewing...or, another way to look at it would be the fine art of listening. Here's what it's all about...
We're artists, right? We like to write, which is a very special form of art and creativity. It means that we dig deep within our minds and put down on paper - or computer monitor - some of our most intimate thoughts.
But maybe it's time that you realized what a wealth of information you're missing. If you only write what you know about, think of how much is missing.
Many years ago I decided to write a short story about a guy who is having very bizarre visions, and he struggles to find out what it all means. During the story we see him visiting with a psychiatrist. Well, I don't know much about the field of psychiatry, except what I've seen on tv and in the movies. I needed to get more information.
I made an appointment to interview a real psychiatrist. She spent an hour with me, explaining (briefly) how most meetings developed, what the relationships were like, and much more. I took pages and pages of notes, and then used those notes to write a very good - and very realistic - short story.
This month's assignment for you is to find someone in a field or career that you know nothing about...and interview that person. Practice a very important skill for a writer: Listening. Learn to see their career through their eyes, so that when you write about it, you'll have a whole new appreciation.
Our writing assignment, as you might have guessed, is to write a quick story about a fictional person in that profession. Use your notes from your interview, and be sure to write about at least a couple of things that you didn't even know about two weeks ago. You are now full of new and interesting information, and you've practiced both listening AND research skills.
It doesn't matter if your story is humorous, serious, scary...whatever. Use your new information, picked up in your interview, as the framework for your tale. And remember, have fun!
Dom Testa Author of the Galahad series of books www.DomTesta.com
