Answer their Questions

When you write non-fiction – for a magazine, newspaper or newsletter you are usually giving information. The question is – are you giving people the information they are looking for?

I’m not talking here about copywriters who know all too well how to suck us in with 10 surefire ways to… or the 7 secrets of…. They know deep in  their bones what information we’re looking for. I’m talking about the rest of us who see ourselves as writers, not copywriters.

If you have a degree in horticulture, how do you know what a new gardener needs to know about growing spinach? Because of your qualifications you’ve been asked to write this. Where do you start? If you write something simple enough for the true beginner are you going to bore the reader who has grown spinach a couple of times before and wants ideas for improving the crop?

If you spend half the article length on preparing the soil – because you believe this is most important – will you turn off those who take the soil for granted and just want to get down to the business of choosing seeds and planting?

Or maybe it’s the church newsletter and the minister asks for an article on the importance of attending the early service and bringing friends and family with you.

As a writer you are torn between what people ought to want to read and what they actually do want. If you write about what they ought to want, will they read it? Or will they glance over the first paragraph and decide that it’s time to take the dog for a walk?

Thing is: If what you write is not read there is very little value in it. Only if someone reads it is there a chance that they will take a few of your ideas to heart and change their behavior.

But the editor said…the minister asked…. Yes, you’re stuck in the middle. They may flatter you with “You’re so good with words. I’m sure you can come up with something.”

The question to ask them (and to ask yourself) is “What do these readers want to know?” What you or the editor or the minister want to tell them pales before what they want to know. And if you don’t know what that is, ask them.

Spend time asking your readers – “What are you looking for in this publication?” “What questions do you have about this topic?” Get as much feedback from as wide an assortment of readers as possible. Then figure out ways to give them what they want to read while at the same time incorporating a little of what you or the editor wants.

Reading is about the readers. Writing is about the readers too.

You’re a Writer – Put yourself out there

One of the surprising aspects of being a writer is that people will disagree with you. How dare they? You put time and effort into what you wrote and they come up with criticism. The nerve!

If you write gentle poetry or musings readers will either like it or skip over it – you probably won’t know unless they respond to tell you how much they loved it.

But once you start putting your beliefs or opinions down – whether on paper or on line – you’ll find people who disagree, maybe strongly. They will question your thinking, your logic and anything else that comes to their mind.

This is good. Swallow hard and keep on going. You have hit a nerve. You have made someone think outside their box. You done good!

Sooner or later in our writing, whatever form it takes, we have to take a stand of some sort. Say what we believe.  It might be a topic of world concern or something minor that matters to you at the moment.

The scope of it is immaterial. That you have the courage to put your opinion out there is the important part. Being a writer demands that we don’t just report facts like a journalist would. We put out own perspective in there. It would be lovely if the whole world agreed with us, because we are just so right.

We not necessarily right, we’re writers. We are here to make people think. Make them consider something they never thought about before. Give them a different slant on something they thought they knew all about. Raise questions in their mind.

None of this is comfortable for people, and some will lash out, blaming the messenger. Some will complain that you write in no known genre. Pick a genre they will say – you can’t just make your own up.  Some will cloak themselves in the virtue of age or religion.

No matter. You are the person with the courage and integrity to write what you believe. You’re the one standing out there, tall. You’re a writer.

Interviewing Family Members

You may find that most of the people you interview are older people. When you ask if you may talk to them about their memories they often start off:

“Well, you know, we just lived on the farm. There’s nothing much to say”. Or, “I just stayed at home. You should ask my husband – he went out to work.”

It helps if you prepare yourself for these objections by having prepared some simple  questions ahead of time. Don’t start out with the hard questions “Why is it you and your sister haven’t spoken to each other since 1985?” It might be the one question that is burning inside you, but it is not the question that will get the talking started.

Do some research ahead of time. Find out more about these people so you are not going in cold. Find out about their children, their hobbies and, if you can, find what they are proud of. They may be proud that their son is a doctor, or that “My husband built this house. Every single board of it.” People will talk about what they are proud of. It’s worthwhile putting into your history and it paves the way for other questions.

Make yourself familiar with some of the terms they are going to use. If Uncle Jim was a millwright, know what a millwright’s job consisted of. You don’t have to parade your knowledge (Maybe better that you don’t – if he’s been doing the job for forty years so he might know more about it than you do.) Just show that you have some familiarity with it, so you can base more complex questions on it.

 Prepare in practical ways too. Will you take a tape recorder? Do you have enough tape and enough battery life for a long session? Check your equipment to be sure it is in working order. Will you take notes? Be sure to take more than one pen or pencil. And get permission for recording or note-taking ahead of time.

While you are getting that permission ask if they have any old photographs they might like to show you. If they have some photographs ready when you arrive you will have a ready-made source of questions as you look at them. Other faces will appear in the pictures and you will have questions about these new people. There might be a different house, so you can ask “Where were you living then?” or “When did you move/why did you move/how long did you live in that town?”

Good preparation shows that you are going about your interviewing and research in a professional, business-like way. It gives your interviewees confidence in you and in your ability. It helps establish a level of trust that will pay dividends throughout your visit.

Some easy interview starter questions:

Tell me about your children. John’s the oldest, right?

Did you name your children after your parents?

Were you happy to retire?

Is that a photo of your mother? I’ve heard she was a warm/strict/careful person.

Was it in 1960 you were married? Do you have a picture of the wedding?