Lesson: Character and Theme 3: The Interview

[Hinckley]

The Interview

Set up an interview between you and one (or several) of your characters.

Take the time to set it up. Write a paragraph about this character's background as if you were writing an article about the character and conducting an interview. You can also choose any part of the story to be interviewing your character during. Be as specific or general as you want with your questions, but definitely be creative. Don't try to edit yourself. Ask anything. You never know what answer you will get. The answers may surprise you. Setup a follow-up interview or interview your character at several points during the story.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. Does your character know they're being interviewed by the author? If so, how do they feel about you? Are they upset with you for writing a certain incident? Do they blame you for anything?

2. Are they willing to open up right away? Do they have to warm up to you? What makes them open up?

3. Are there things that they won't tell you? Things that they're thinking that they would never say out loud? If so, write those down in a separate document! Those are the most interesting!

There's a very clear point to this exercise and hopefully you will see it without being told. Let yourself go and have fun with it. Once you are comfortable with the format, it should flow naturally, like a conversation between author and character. Once it gets there, let it go as far as you are able and then we can look at what you have when it's done.