The Art of the Interview (Ch. 4)

"By living in the moment and being forced to discard my agenda--a list of questions about wages, costs, flax and linen products--I had found the real story." --Philip Gerard, page 54 of Creative Nonfiction

Good writing comes from living in the moment. I think that's where all good art comes from, it comes from capturing something about real life experience that other people can relate to. And real life is messy and doesn't follow an agenda. I've gone into interviews with a set of questions and come out with so much more than answers to those questions. Any time I've set up a rigid plan for a piece, it has come out sounding forced and artificial, or I've just had to abandon the plan altogether. You have to just let the piece take you where it needs to take you; there's a story out there that wants to be told, you just have to find it.