I interviewed the renowned feature writer Alex Scoredelis for a final assignment in my Feature Writing course.

1. Alex Scoredelis

2. About Scoredelis
Writer, director and performer at the Upright
Citizens Brigade Theatre
Staff writer on the upcoming Hulu series "Difficult
People”
Co-wrote a book about
performing improv
Head writer of Insane
Clown Posse Theater on
Fuse TV in 2014

3. More About Scoredelis
His work has appeared in:
ESPN
CollegeHumor
Buzzfeed
New York Post
New York Magazine
Vice
Paper Magazine

4. Scoredelis’s Feature Writing
Career
In the field of feature writing,
Scoredelis is most recently known
for his work in Paper Magazine
Some examples:
Cover story on Amy
Poehlerhttp://www.papermag.com/2013/12/amy_p
oehler_is_one_busy_lady.php
Cover story on Iggy
Azaleahttp://www.papermag.com/2013/09/iggy_a
zalea.php

5. So, what does Scoredelis
think about all of this?
My Interview with the Legend Himself

6. Can you tell me a little bit about
yourself and how you became a
successful feature writer?
“I studied Creative Writing as an
undergraduate, and a graduate student. But
writing magazine features came about in a very
roundabout way for me. I got a job as a copy
editor at Paper Magazine in 2010. I mostly fact
checked and corrected grammar. At some
point I wrote something for Paper's website, and
the editors liked my writing and invited me to
be the magazine's music critic. I did that for a
couple years, and as time went on I started
writing longer pieces in the magazine. Now
I've written a bunch of features and cover stories

7. Is networking a large part of what you
do? Was it hard to get your name out
there when you first began writing?
“Networking is a huge part of being a writer.
All of the writing jobs I get are because someone
I've worked with in the past has recommended me.
I've never really made an attempt to get my name
out there, though. I do try to get my work out there.
Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook help with that.
Social media also helps with meeting other
writers.”

8. What is the biggest obstacle you have
faced while writing? How did you
overcome it?
“I don't know if it's the biggest obstacle, but I
struggle with writing leads. I haven't overcome
this yet! It's something I'm still trying to get better
at. I try to read profiles by great writers to
see how they kick off their stories.”

9. What is the biggest obstacle you have
faced while writing? How did you
overcome it?
“I don't know if it's the
biggest obstacle, but I
struggle with writing
leads. I haven't
overcome this yet! It's
something I'm still trying
to get better at. I try to
read profiles by great
writers to see how
they kick off their
stories.”

10. Whenever I am writing a feature, I
struggle the most with the reporting
aspect. How do you handle the reporting
and research side of feature writing?
“I enjoy the research! I like it more than the writing
sometimes. If I have enough lead time, I'll go on
Amazon and buy books about my subject
and read them in advance. I've done this for profiles
I've written on Snoop Dogg, Courtney Love and
Willie Nelson. I also read as many other
magazine profiles on these subjects as I can,
mostly because I don't want to repeat stories
they've already told. However, I hate transcribing
interviews, but I always do it myself. Sometimes
magazines ask if you want an intern to transcribe,
but it helps me piece the story together and
remember details from the interview if I do it

11. Another aspect of feature writing that I
struggle with is the constraints of the
publication I am writing for. Have you ever
dealt with these? If so, do you have some
examples?
“This can be a struggle, but for me, it's a fun
struggle. Every publication has a different
voice, and it's a challenge to write in that voice. I
wrote a profile of Patton Oswalt for the New York
Post, and that's a very different voice than the one I
used in a profile I wrote on Lizzy Caplan for InStyle.
You have to be adaptable in your writing style
to fit the voice of the magazine or newspaper. Also, a
lot of times a copy editor will slash the word count of
your story without telling you. That's another kind of
constraint. This sort of thing happens all the time. It's
just part of the business, but is very frustrating.”

12. What was your favorite piece you have
ever written/ worked on and why?
“I have two favorites: last year I wrote an essay for
Vice on a community college teacher who helped
Rickey Henderson with his Baseball Hall of
Fame induction speech. The subject of that
essay, Earl Robinson, died while I was writing it. So
it became extra meaningful for me that I got to tell
part of his life story. And I had a lot of fun writing a
cover story on Amy Poehler for Paper in 2013. I
also do comedy writing, and I recently wrote for an
upcoming TV show called "Difficult People" that Amy
produced. So it was fun to get to write about one of
my comedy heroes, and learn from her.”

13. advice for people
who are looking to
become
successful feature
writers like you in
the future?
“It's boring advice but
write all the time.
Write magazine articles,
newspaper articles,
blogs, tweets, diary
entries, anything and
everything. I wrote
calendar listings for a
newspaper when I was in
college. It was so
tedious, but I learned a
lot about writing
concisely. It all adds
up.”

14. Any other general stories,
comments, or advice you would like
to share?
“Hmm... what else. I took a college course on
essay writing and we had to read "A
Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" by
David Foster Wallace, "The White Album" by
Joan Didion and "Life Stories" -- a collection
of New Yorker profiles. Those books made
me want to be a magazine writer. I still re-
read those books all the time. Read them if
you haven't already!”

15. So, what did I
learn?

16. • Feature writing is a skill
that requires many other
skills