interviewing tips for CNF class

1. Tricks, tips, techniques

2.  In memoir, the main “source” for information
is usually the writer
 In some cases, such as with David Carr and
David Maclean—and for longer narratives—
the unreliable narrator may talk to others
 But in reported essays and literary journalism,
the sources may stretch farther than those close
to the original source (the writer)

3.  Interviewing sources, and research, can enhance
and deepen our topics
 Interviews and research provide credibility
 Moving outside our own brains and experiences
broadens our expertise, knowledge and ideas for
all writing
 This is why so many nonfiction and fiction writers
work in both genres—because there is so much
cross-over in the techniques of gathering
information for a story and for the techniques of
writing fiction and creative nonfiction
 And also because non-fiction provides more
opportunities to publish and get paid to write

4.  Believe it or not, many people who interview
for a living are actually shy in real life
 The more you do it, the easier it becomes
 The interview subject is probably more nervous
than you are
 Interviews are useful in numerous ways: they
garner information, they strengthen your
ability to write and her dialogue, they create
connection

5. “Journalism is kind of like dating. You have to be yourself but less. When I
interview someone, I become smaller than him. I slouch down, and sometimes I
get a bad neck. I look at him and I listen. Intension is important too, because
your intentions come through.
—Mike Sager, Esquire contributing writer
Or at least some version of your self

6.  Avoid email interviews
 Online research is helpful, but interviewing as
many people as possible for a story will garner
info/ideas unavailable online.
 Phone versus in-person?

7.  Particularly for sensitive interviews
 Trust that you will be honest, accurate
 “Act like a human being.”
 Zoe last week undertook a challenging
interview.

8.  Read up on the subject or person
 Ask the person you’ll be interviewing to send
you any info ahead of time he or she wants you
to know.
 Have questions ready to go
 Familiarize yourself with other articles on your
topic/person

9.  Send an email that explains why you want the
story and shows the subject you’re interested.
Dear Councilor X,
I am writing a story on the City Council’s decision
to ban nude bicyclists. You spoke against this
decision based on your history as a nude
bicyclist. I’d love to hear more about this. Is
there a convenient time this week for an
interview?

10.  A phone interview deprives you of “color”—
describe the person, what they look like, what
they wear, the environment of their home or
office. Or, if you’re in public, maybe the
environment interacts with the subject.

11. Beneath a big tent hastily erected on a roof behind the Staples Center in
downtown Los Angeles, a collection of modern gladiators gathers behind a
portable stage, twenty-two broken noses and sets of cauliflower ears
standing in a reverent semicircle around a familiar pug — the former bar
bouncer, hotel bellhop, and personal fitness trainer who has, over the past
decade, helped to turn the Ultimate Fighting Championship into a $1
billion business with fans across the globe.
—Meet Dana White, the King of Mixed Martial Arts, Esquire Magazine, by
Mike Sager
“An assistant greets me and asks me to wait in the living room, which is
suspended seemingly right over the crashing waves of the Pacific…after a
few minutes, the assistant leads me up to the star’s bedroom. According ot
Lawrence-Bullard, the bed originally belonged to Natacha Rambova, who
was the wife of Rudolph Valentino.
—Cher profile by Krista Smith, Vanity Fair, December 2010

12.  The best way to have
a spontaneous
conversation is to
have your questions
prepared.
 Crowd-source!

13.  Open-ended
questions are:
 Flexible
 Exploratory
 Can reveal more than
the source realizes
 Closed-Ended
questions are:
 Designed to pull
specific information
 Can be yes or no
 May often be
information you really
need!

14.  How old are you?
 Do you plan to vote in
November?
 How do you feel
about turning 18 in
today’s economy?
 What considerations
are you weighing in
the November
election?

15.  Confusing questions can create confusing
answers.
 Make sure you understand what the person is
saying. Ask them to repeat if you don’t.
 Type up your notes right away while they are
fresh in your mind. Look for great quotes, a
possible lead, info you need to follow up on.

16.  Always take notes even if you’re recording—
don’t rely solely on a recording
 Have multiple writing utensils
 Look up when you’re writing
 Learn to write in a short-hand you can
decipher
 Don’t be afraid to ask people to slow down
 Make them spell everything!

17.  If you are listening when you interview, you
may hear things you need clarified. Ask those
questions. Make the source explain.
 Ask for additional sources to talk to, additional
information. This will lead to stronger stories
and additional stories.

18.  Again, if you have what you need, ask if the
subject has anything to add. Say, “thank you
for your time.”
 Don’t let the source talk at you
 Have a conversation: listen and ask questions
based on what you want to know.

19.  Use memorable quotes for “direct quotation.”
 Don’t quote factual/expository information. “I
am 18,” is not an interesting quote. As with
fiction, dialogue should convey emotion,
should mean more than it says.
 Put punctuation within the quote marks.
 Correct grammar? Case by case.

20.  As you’ll see in “Devil’s Bait” and “The Fourth
State of Matter,” both stories make use of other
forms of sourcing beyond people sourcing:
 Newspaper articles
 Historical documents
 Public records
 The internet!
 Immersion reporting

21.  Sourcing for information should be accessible,
but not intrusive
 When you are writing to be read, you don’t
want footnotes and academic citation
 But you also don’t want information that
appears out of nowhere and doesn’t seem
credible

22. “For Paul, it started with a fishing trip. For Lenny,
it was an addict whose knuckles were covered
in sores. Dawn found pimples clustered
around her swimming goggles. Kendra noticed
ingrown hairs. Patricia was attacked by sand
flies on a Gulf Coast beach. Sometimes the
sickness starts as blisters, or lesions, or itching,
or simply a terrible fog settling over the mind,
over the world.”
(The Devil’s Bait, Leslie Jamison)

23.  First, you decide what you want to write about
 Then, you see if there are obvious people to
talk with connected to that topic
 Research what’s been written already
 You will be surprised and amazed how many
people will make themselves available to you
for information and for an interview

24.  Both of these pieces are a cross between literary
journalism & personal reportage
 They have reporting in them—journalism—but the
authors are also in the stories, have a connection to
the story
 As with fiction, you can choose the POV for your
reported piece; perhaps it’s “I,” perhaps it’s third
person
 As with fiction, that decision should be made not
for convenience, but based on how close you think
the narrator should be to the narrative for the
piece’s effectiveness.