3/28/2020 22 Comments PART II: HOW TO WRITE A PROFILEToday’s guest post is by Pamela Mytroen. If you missed Part I, feel free to check it out here. Post Interview: Separate the Dross from the Gold You have taken a ton of notes at your interview. There are a lot of glittery bits, but how do you find the pure gold? Everyone has their own approach, but I will share my technique, and you can decide if it works for you or not. Five Steps: 1) Transcribe everything you gleaned from the interview onto your screen, even little details you think you might not use. You’d be surprised what you draw on. 2) Read through the interview and highlight what grabs you emotionally. Did somebody suffer a tragedy? Does a humourous anecdote speak to you? How about a personal detail that humanizes a celebrity? Whatever touches you at the core will also speak to others. 3). Some people speak of theme like it should be outlawed, but I use it because it works. A theme is a way to build a piece. It’s like the Cotton-Candy Maker at the fair. He starts with a stick. It doesn’t look like much, but as he makes a pass inside the tub, around and around, he builds an attractive and irresistible confection. At the core of it all is a stick, holding everything together. Then he ends with a flourish and hands it to you. Start with the stick of your theme. For example, I interviewed a lady who had suffered many setbacks after she moved to Canada. She lived through devastating dust storms, the loss of family, financial hardship and grew strong through it all. She had come from Chicago, the Windy City, so I used the theme of storms to tie all of her life stories together. After you introduce the person and tie him or her to your chosen theme, make a swoop through your stories and layer them into your profile. For example, in the profile about a stormy life, I added one story, then another, and another, about storms in her life, some literal and some abstract. Keep gathering stories until you have a collection that centre around your chosen theme. Don’t use every story you have—only those that fit your theme. I often just use three or four poignant stories and leave the rest. Weave in those touching details that you highlighted in step #2. Don’t be discouraged if your cotton candy looks like a disaster and you have to throw it out several times. Hit delete (or cut and paste it at the bottom of your document) and start over. It takes me several tries to land on a theme that speaks to me and fits the person’s life. 4) End with a flourish or a twist like the Cotton-Candy Maker. You might have a quote that resonates with your theme, or you might make a humorous statement that ties in with the stories. Or you might want to point to the next big thing in that person’s life and ask a question such as, “How will she manage the next step?” Then answer it: “With the courage and character she’s cultivated from the storms life has handed her.” In any case, if you tie the ending back to something from the article, your reader will feel satisfied. You have made your point whether in dramatic or humourous fashion, and it ties off the piece perfectly. Many authors and speakers, such as Phil Callaway, Rex Murphy, Rick Mercer, Jean Robertson, and more, use resonation to end with a bang. 5) Throw out the rest of the information you collected. You will rarely use everything the person gave you in your interview. It’s like sifting a pan of sand. There may be some nuggets in there, but if they don’t fit your chosen angle, then they are just fool’s gold. Some More Tips: • Stick to the word count. • Submit your piece on time to your editor. • Keep certain facts confidential if you are asked to. • Read other profiles to get ideas for new questions. I read Writer’s Digest interviews for fresh ideas. Other Things I Often Do: • Use language consistent with your chosen theme. For example, if you use a fair or carnival theme, try something like this: “Around the next curve, she was to find out . . .” Or, “The ride isn’t over yet, but . . .” Or if the person is a cook, try a food theme and use language such as “simmering,” “back burner,” “stirring up a dream,” “flavor,” etc. I interviewed a photographer and used language such as “He’s focusing on another dream now,” and “He’s getting the big picture,” etc. • Bring in quotes from outside sources. For example, ask concertgoers what they thought of the concert. Ask other people at the gallery what they think of a specific painting, or ask customers what they think of a certain store. This gives validity to your opinion. I recommend using only positive quotes, unless you are entering the world of satire. Even then, kindness goes further than biting sarcasm. • Use fiction techniques to create tension and conflict to keep the reader riveted. “Will they get their dream? Will their hard work pan out?” In fiction this is called a “pay off.” You make a promise at the beginning of the story by showing that the character is striving for something, and you pay off the reader at the end by showing how the character achieved their goal or grew in character to handle the problems. In nonfiction, you could show that the person being interviewed has conflict too. Take your reader along for the ride through the high points and the valleys until the payoff at the end. Another fiction technique is to tell the reader that something is missing in this person’s life. What is it? Explore several avenues, creating curiosity, until you finally reveal what it is. I published an interview with a business owner of a hair salon called “Something’s Missing at (Business Place).” What was missing? Was it the award-winning manager who had worked with celebrities? No, that’s not what was missing. Or how about the relaxed family atmosphere at the salon? No. I added a couple more anecdotes until I revealed the missing thing. What was it? Ammonia. Hey, simple, I know, but I thought it was a different and effective approach. Things you don’t have to include: • You don’t have to include all the information you gathered from the interview. Write what grabs you and centre the piece on that instead. • It doesn’t have to be in chronological order. Start with something riveting. Then fill in the person’s backstory later. Or reveal the ending first and raise the question of how they got to that point. Then trace their journey. Those are fiction techniques. • You don’t have to write a perfect draft on your first try. Get it all out—everything that speaks to you about this person. Every story and detail. It will be drivel, but you can refine drivel until it’s divine. • You don’t have to please the person you’re interviewing. It is their story for you to respect and to tell truthfully, but it will be from your perspective. After you write the story, they might see themselves in a new light, which can be refreshing for them. Or not. But most importantly, you are serving your reader. Always write with your reader in mind. • You don’t have to write in third-person (he, she . . .) Once you’ve established a comfy spot in the newspaper or magazine, you might be invited to write editorials, which may include a profile. Once your readers know and trust your style, they might find it lovely and humorous to hear your up-close opinion of a person. • Negotiate with your editor if need be. Editors are not created equally! If they propose a change that you feel would take away from your piece, give your reasons and see what they say. • Overall, submit to the editorial process. Writers and editors grow together as each one comes to understand the needs of the other. Once you find an editor you have confidence in, surrender your work to them and trust them. They will see things that you missed, even if you triple-checked. Often, they can smooth out your wording and make it easier to read. Crafting a profile is like mining for gold. Some can’t handle the backbreaking work, and they quit before the mother lode is revealed. If you want to tell golden stories, you will have to search longer and dig deeper than everyone else. You will need to separate the gold from the dross and polish it until it shines. Pam Mytroen 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.
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Nina Faye Morey is a Canadian freelance writer, editor, and artist. Archives
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