WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers

When I was writing for the Oriental Rug Magazine I often had to conduct interviews with retailers, wholesalers, designers, and conference leaders and participants. In the beginning, I used to dread these interviews. I agonized over the best way to elicit interesting responses. After a few years, these interviews were not as painful as they were in the early days, but they did become boring. I realized I had to infuse the interviews with life. How could I do that?

Here are some things I learned in the process:

The most important quality you bring to an interview is your own interest. Your interest is contagious, and makes for a more interesting interview. Because it is fun to do, it becomes fun to write; because it’s fun to write, it’s fun to read.

How do you summon interest for a topic or a person?  Research as much as you possibly can about the person before the meeting – or if you’re researching a story or reporting on an event, to get as much detailed information as you can before you begin forming questions. Background details are the bones of an interview and you don’t want to begin an interview without the skeleton. (If you had only one question to ask President Obama, it would not be, I hope, “In what year were you elected president?”)

Your questions are your most powerful tool to writing a great interview. Before you start, come up with several strong, leading questions. This is how you’ll create the energy that makes for an interesting interview. Open-ended questions are the best: these are questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Ask yourself what is most special about the person? Why have you chosen this individual? Has he/she done anything outstanding? Why do you want to meet and what do you long to know?

“Tell me about yourself” is the most often asked question in interviews. I’d say that puts the interviewee on the spot, it’s embarrassing; it’s almost rude. If you were on a date, it would put a damper on the conversation, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t you rather ask something, odd, different, but personal, like:

“What was the best thing that happened to you this year?”
“Who is the most important person in your life?”
“What’s your ideal Saturday?”

If you have a specific topic, like the arrival of a new Kashan from Teheran, you could ask:
“What makes this carpet so special?”
“What is the most meaningful rug you’ve ever owned and why?”
“Have you ever traveled to the country where it came from? What was that like?”
“How did you first become interested in oriental rugs?”

Other questions:
What are your greatest strengths?
Where do you hope you’ll be in five years?
Choose five adjectives that describe you.
Tell me about one thing in your life you’re proudest of.
Describe your ideal teacher/job/home.
What is your philosophy towards work and play?
If you won a million dollars what would you do first?
If you live go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Here are some open-ended and follow-up questions:
What will that mean in the future?
How did you come to that decision?
Can you tell me more about that?
Are you glad you did that?
Why do you feel that way?

A couple of tips: Avoid long, complex, multi-part questions; usually those answers are confusing or dull. You’ll get more intriguing responses to short straightforward questions. Also, remember not to talk too much, and don’t keep re-phrasing a question. That’s an easy habit to fall into, especially if you’re nervous. Keep the focus on the person you’re interviewing, not on you.

So, you’ve agreed to meet at the small oasis café for a chat. In your notebook you have your leading questions. You’ll often find that people respond to interviews with the idea that they are not special. It’s up to you to make them feel relaxed, cheerful, and comfortable.

Only then will you be able to get information that makes them interesting.

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Fun Writing Practice
Interview Yourself

Know Thyself: I’m going to give you the set-up, because otherwise you might get stuck on this exercise. It’s not an easy one! Okay: picture yourself after a long camel-journey across a desert; you’ve arrived late in the afternoon, showered, refreshed, and you hear that someone you’ve always wanted to meet happens to be staying in the same hotel. (This happens to be you.) You write a note requesting an interview, which is agreed to. You spend the evening writing out the questions you want to ask most of this person.

The next morning you meet early for the encounter. You have your questions ready, but you know that the interview may well turn into a conversation that you’ll cherish as a highlight of your journey.

Think about a subject that’s important in your life, and focus your interview questions around that event. Picture meeting yourself at the oasis café and feeling super-glad and eager to learn more – about yourself.

Writing the interview: Take your notes and arrange them in a logical order. Create an outline. What is the most important thing that stands out for you about this person? Come up with a thesis statement. Come up with an interesting title for your story.

Begin the introductory paragraph with an anecdote. Something funny is a great way to start the essay, or bring the reader into the place where the interview occurred. “As I sat waiting at my table at the café, I wondered what he would be like. Here was an internationally acclaimed expert on oriental rugs, and he happened to be in the very same oasis where I was staying. I was worried I might not even recognize him. But as soon as he emerged from the hotel on the far side of the plaza, I knew it was him. He was as short and stocky, and his beard and hair were white as desert sand; his eyes caught mine and pierced them like hooks. Yes, this was the legendary Abu Kassim all right….”

In this first paragraph you have to state the person’s name (in this case it’s you) and why you’re conducting the interview (this usually this melds into the thesis statement). You can either write the inteview in a question-and-answer form, or in a narrative essay form. Either way, you need an introduction, smooth transitions, a logical sequence of thought (you can rearrange the sequence of questions, but you do need to accurately quote your interviewee), and a strong conclusion.

This writing practice is one of the harder ones, but it can be a deeply rewarding experience. We don’t self-reflect nearly enough on our own lives. Try it.

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Seven Happinesses

going to a party in the city
planning a menu
alyssum still blooming in November
a new lipstick
getting paid for a good job well done
knowing you’re safe
singing folk songs with friends