3/14/2020 0 Comments PART I: HOW TO WRITE A PROFILE Today’s guest post is by Pamela Mytroen.
Pam has published several interviews with musicians, artists, writers, business people and others, profiles and human interest stories, articles, editorials, short stories, and serialized fiction in various newspapers, magazines, and anthologies. She has discovered that the best way to solve a problem is to write a story, blog, Sunday School lesson, or devotional. She is also a Language Assessor and English as an Additional Language teacher at her local regional college. Pam enjoys reading thrillers and spending time in the kitchen baking brownies, pies and chocolate chip cookies, which is probably just an excuse to get out of writing. She is married to a tall Norwegian farm boy, and they have four children and three grandchildren. Profile Interview: How to Mine for a Story Your interview forms the core of your profile piece. This is where you will ask questions, gather information, and follow the sparkling veins of gold that lead to a treasure of a story. Do You Research Before the Interview? I usually research the website, other writings, and reviews of the person I am about to interview. This gives some ideas for specific questions, such as, “How do you feel about your writing being compared to C.S. Lewis’s?” Bringing context to the interview gives the person the chance to address or clarify their story. Basically, they can tell their own side of their story. However, it is also advantageous to conduct a “cold” interview without any preconceived ideas or opinions. In this way, their story may grab you. This may lead to fresh reading that will engage your reader. Whether you research or not, it is the strength and style of your writing that will pull your reader in and give him an emotional experience. Don’t Ignore Ordinary People I want my reader to be emotionally stirred, but that’s not an excuse for beefing up or bending somebody’s story. For example, some of the first people I was asked to interview were boring in my mind. They were, after all, ordinary people. However, I learned an important lesson—ordinary people are often inroads to the vulnerable underbelly of a story. I was once tasked with interviewing a concession worker at an airport that trained pilots in WWII. At first, I thought she wouldn’t know about the glory of an international airport at the cusp of Hitler’s world domination. And maybe she didn’t. But she did have an ear where the commanders might not have. At the concession, the pilots would come to buy one cigarette at a time, and while leaning against her counter, would release their burdens and confide about their hopes and dreams. They cried when a friend had died in training, or they would lean forward and whisper in choked tones how they feared they’d never see their little girl again. They would laugh when they had buzzed a farm so low that the farmer in the open tractor shook his fist. They told her about the little chapel on base where they had found enough peace to get through another day. The emotional heart of that story was behind a scarred wooden counter, buried within the heart of a simple concession worker. And it didn’t hurt to find out that full-size chocolate bars were only a nickel. Sometimes the bystanders and little details hold a backstage pass to the real drama. Don’t Forget the Little Details I have learned that the little details, rather than the well-known and “amazing” facts, are often more appealing to readers. A 100-year-old man I interviewed may not have been famous, but he shared an interesting tidbit. “What is your secret to long life?” I had asked him. “Flax in my porridge,” he snapped, “but it has to be ground.” I almost didn’t include that little detail, but I tacked it on, thinking it was a cute ending. The paper printed a favourable letter in response to that profile, and affirmed that tiny things, like flaxseed, make a big impact. Another little question I asked, which didn't have much to do with a star-studded concert, was, “What’s it like travelling together as a band?” Remigio Pereira told me how lonely it was travelling by himself from concert to concert, but once he joined the Canadian Tenors he felt like he had a family and a brotherhood. Readers always love to find out that celebrities are, in fact, human. Don’t Exclude the Little Anecdotes Would you read an article about the statistics of Operation Christmas Child? How many boxes they shipped and how many children received them? A newspaper refused to print that piece three years in a row. The coordinator gave up and asked if I would try. I bypassed the “millions of boxes” statistics and zeroed in on one story: a little Ukrainian boy who got dental floss in his box and because he had never seen it before, thought it was candy and licked the string, enjoying the minty taste. “I thought that Americans had interesting candy,” he said. It was just a funny little detail that caught the attention of the editor, and it opened the door to an annual story. Little people, little questions, little nuggets—they can lead to an unexpected mother lode of emotional payoff. Remember Story Sells Product Whether interviewing businesses or artists or anybody in between, they all have something they want to “sell.” But readers are not interested in price tags and warranties. They want a story. I have used the following questions to elicit stories: “Tell me, please, how did you get your start in this business?” That was the question I asked of an agricultural business. They wanted me to publish a detailed list of machinery and parts, but I wanted a story. This is what they told me with a shrug of their shoulders: My crop was under water, and if I didn’t save it, I would have to sell the farm. What would happen to my family? My new wife? I trudged to my Quonset in despair and patched together a piece of machinery from old parts that helped lift my crop from the water. He invented a part that not only saved his crop and his family that year, but also enabled him to open a business that has become a highly respected world player. Stories sell product, whether it is machinery, books, art, or reputations. “Why did you choose this town to open your restaurant?” The cook wanted me to print the menu in the paper, but again, I wanted a story. Turns out they were a financially depleted, disillusioned couple who packed everything they owned into their camper, headed west, and broke down in a small town long before their desired destination. They decided to stay and open a restaurant, “Mama’s Café.” Would you rather read that story, or a list of entrees and sides? And, by the way, their cinnamon buns were unforgettable. The business owner will always want to push his product, but you are a storyteller. Go behind the curtain and talk to the lighting and make-up people. Ask the small questions. Get the insignificant details. Their perspective is often more revealing and humanizing than the person under the spotlight. Setbacks are Real Stories “Did you have any setbacks?” That question might unearth an intriguing story like this one: Kornel Wolak, a Polish musician performing with Canada’s most distinguished orchestras said, “Nothing pushed me stronger towards exploring the clarinet more than my first teacher’s negative comment. He called upon my mother and told her frankly, ‘Your son is a complete anti-talent and should not continue on the clarinet.’ This truly shook me up,” says Wolak, “and I decided that before I quit I should at least check if he was right. Soon enough, the more time I spent with the clarinet, the more I realized it was ‘my thing’ and it has been so ever since.” Don’t Stop Asking Questions Continue to ask questions until you get the story behind the story. Use questions that start with, “Tell me about . . .” Open-ended questions cannot be answered with “Yes” or “No.” Rather, they provide an opportunity for the person to talk as much as they want, and to tell their story at their comfort level. Whether they provide emotional responses or just concrete details, it shows that you are a listener and want to hear their version. This builds trust, and they may open up and become more vulnerable as the interview proceeds. A List of Sample Questions: 1. Please tell me about . . . (your childhood, your business, your book, etc.). 2. How did you get started? What motivated you? Please tell me, even if it is something trivial. 3. How did you become so skilled? 4. What is a typical day like? What is it like travelling for your job? 5. Why did you choose this city to start your business? (write your book, etc.) 6. Did you have any obstacles to overcome? 7. Did anybody try to discourage or dissuade you from your endeavour? 8. What would you do if you didn’t sing, paint, write, sell cheesecake . . . ? 9. What is something trivial that makes you happy? 10. What scares you? What do you regret? (Readers love this stuff. They want to know that this person is human, not a divine creature they cannot relate to. Readers tweet, share, and repeat this kind of story because they feel affirmed.) 11. What is something most people don’t know about you, but you would like them to know? 12. Please tell me a fun fact about yourself. 13. What is the most interesting trend happening in your field right now? At the End of the Interview:
“Part II: How to Write a Profile” will cover crafting a written profile and separating the dross from the gold. Check it out here.
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Nina Faye Morey is a Canadian freelance writer, editor, and artist. Archives
April 2020
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