Role Reversal

Usually when it comes to interviews, I'm the person interviewing someone else. Usually at writers conferences, I meet people who have never done a single interview. They are petrified to ask those first questions and complete their first interview. I've been conducting interviews related to my own writing since I was a sophomore in high school--more than a few years back. After high school, throughout the first couple of years of college, I worked on the campus daily newspaper. As a part of writing my stories, I conducted many more interviews. Throughout my magazine and book work, it's been a constant skill which I use in my work. In fact, if you use the search tool in the right-hand column of The Writing Life, type the word "interview" then search my blog (not the web), you will find many pages with different articles.

It's rare for me when the roles are reversed and I'm the person interviewed. Recently MaryAnn Diorio interviewed me for her blog, Musings That Matter. She has just posted our interview. Long-term readers of these entries, will probably see a few of my stories they've heard in the past. Others will learn some new things about my life through this interview. To my surprise it ended up over nine pages. I hope you will check it out and find some encouragement for your own writing.