Writing an interview
1) Inquire about the person /author/politician/actor who you are going to interview.
2) Find out if there is any recent news about the person –good/bad or controversial.
3) Have a look at the interviews s/he has given earlier so that you don’t repeat questions or pick up something from that interview to enquire further
4) Locate the person in the sector he comes from, know things about the area beforehand so that you can ask relevant questions.
5) Do not try to get too personal without prior permission.
6) Set the tone of the interview in a cordial, friendly way. Allow the person to get comfortable.
7) Prepare the questions beforehand.
8) Pick up something from what he said to create more on the spot question.
9) The interview can/will never be exactly as you had planned.
10) Stay polite.
11) The questions should be organized as per flow and importance, do not ask abruptly questions out of the blue.
12) Questions should not be too lengthy unless required.
For exam- for a 10 marks Q, there should be at least 8-9 exchanges. One exchange means both the person, the interviewee and the interviewer speak once.
Here is a sample of an interview I had taken in 2015. Here is the original link:
file:///C:/Users/admin/Downloads/1.SWATI%20CHANDRA,.pdf
LINTERVIEW WITH KETAN BHAGAT: AUTHOR OF COMPLETE/CONVENIENT AND CHILD/GOD
SWATI CHANDRA Assistant Professor Daulat Ram College University of Delhi.
About the Interviewee : KETAN BHAGAT is a Mumbai based IT professional who picked up a pen one fine day and today he is the author of two widely acclaimed novels- Complete/Convenient and Child/God. Yes, you guessed it right; he is related to Chetan Bhagat, one of the most popular writers of contemporary times. He happens to be the younger sibling of Chetan Bhagat. As Ketan himself says, his stories begin where Chetan’s end. He writes about the deeper recesses of a man’s heart. His faithful readers are those who have seen life, who understand the complexities that life offers. And he aims to be the man’s voice. He means it. The man here means the male gender. The
man, who is generally absent in the narratives about a person’s struggle and angst when he takes on life. He wants to be the voice of the man and his emotions when he gets married or becomes a father, an area which hitherto has been seen largely understood to affect women only. He is a doting father, a simple, down to earth man who does not care about promoting himself or marketing. Life shouldn’t be taken too seriously he thinks. Though new, he has already proved his mettle as a motivational speaker and, as a writer his craft has begun to be talked about seriously.
His first novel is being made into a movie.
About the interviewer: Swati Chandra is an Assistant Professor of English at Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. She also writes poetry in both English and Hindi. She is an Indo-Pak peace activist. She is working on various projects that include translation, editing and preparing online course materials.
1. Swati Chandra: Hello, Ketan! So, how is the writer feeling today? It’s a Saturday. Any literary rendezvous that makes you wait for the weekends? Do you have to wait for the off days to be able to write?
Ketan Bhagat: No, not really. I do spend a few hours extra on my writing on the weekends.
But even when I am not writing I am always thinking about my story. I will be very honest.
I don’t know about other writers. But I don’t enjoy writing so much. Writing is a lonely experience. It’s a lot of hard work and there is nothing glamorous in the process of writing.
It’s mentally very exhausting but since I am a writer, I have to write.
2. Swati Chandra: Well, that’s a new thing I heard today. You have two novels to your credit and they are Complete/Convenient and Child/God. So, how has the writing journey influenced you as a person? Do you think you are better than or different than what you were when you were not a writer?
Ketan Bhagat: What happens is, when you are not writing, life happens to you but you don’t articulate or analyze it in so much detail. When you are not a writer, you don’t view people as different characters or different personalities. Once you are a writer, you see the same situation differently, that’s also how you also write a story. You become an ‘Out of body’, rise above everything and look at the scenario differently. So, yes eventually it makes you a better person, as everyone is coming from his/her own background, with his/her own narrative, and they all add to your vision.
3. Swati Chandra: As we know a writer observes and writes largely from his own experiences. Both of your works seem to have a strong autobiographical strain. So, how far has your personal life been an inspiration for your works?
Ketan Bhagat: My book was not autobiographical. The story is completely fictional. The feeling, the philosophy is based on real life experiences. As an NRI living in Australia, what I felt was that my life was convenient. But it was when I returned to India, I had the feeling of being ‘Complete’, though there is a lot of chaos in India. Similarly most people have the choice, either to have a convenient life abroad or a complete one in India. Most
of youngsters who go abroad, they like the convenience available to them there, but there is something missing. So Complete/Convenient is about that. Then, when my son was born, he was like God to me. I felt I am the father in the child. He looked so happy and content, though he was a part of the same family yet he was so happy. He was like a God. I felt I could learn so much from him. So, even when I write about the fictional characters, the philosophy that I put behind it is what I have felt. You cannot write a murder mystery if you know nothing about a murder. My works are a weird mix of fiction and reality that is also my purpose of writing.
4. Swati Chandra: Your second novel Child/God has one of its major themes the parentchild relationship. And it happens to be Children’s Day today. What according to you a parent should be careful about while dealing with children? As you know we are concerned about the behavioral issues or lack of ethics in children, these days.
Ketan Bhagat: See childhood is a very temporary phase of life, that’s the way nature works, say for five to ten years. What I feel is, the other things of your life like career or house etc. will stay but your child won’t stay a child forever. People should not view parenting as a formality. We don’t give it that level of importance that we give to marriage or career. A child is a unique creature. He/she reflects your attitude towards them. You should spend a lot of time with your children. I can leave my career for my child. Even if your child is difficult, he/she won’t stay that way for long. So, one should make the most of this phase rather than complaining.
5. Swati Chandra: As a writer, in which category do you find yourself? What kind of a writer you are or you are against such tags? Or is there any tag that you would want for yourself?
Ketan Bhagat: Well, what I can tell you is, I write coming of age stories. There is hardly any romance in my stories. The tag that I aspire for myself is to be a writer who brings out the emotions that men feel. The difficulties that men go through, how they feel when they get married, or leave their country, the experiences for which no body prepared them. There are plenty of such narratives about women. I wish the tag where people would say, ‘If you want to understand men, read Ketan’s books.
6. Swati Chandra: Ketan, you are a writer in your own right. But even you cannot deny that it’s impossible for you to escape a comparison with your elder sibling Chetan Bhagat. So, how has, being Chetan’s sibling helped you? Or has it made things more challenging for you?
Ketan Bhagat: For me, mostly it’s an advantage. Thankfully Chetan has only one sibling, and that’s me. Because of him sometimes people are willing to give me a shot. He is such a popular writer so being related to him does give me certain advantages. Yes, I also get negative feedback sometimes. He is such a talented writer who is able to attract a seventeen year old reader even though he is forty. I cannot do that. We are two different types of writers and it’s not about who is better. It’s like comparing the movie PK with Talwar as
both belong to different genres. My book is generally appreciated by people who have seen life, who like some depth in the stories. .
7. Swati Chandra: How difficult it is for a corporate professional to be able to write? How do you strike a balance between your office files and the writing pad? Do you write daily?
Ketan Bhagat: I do my job so that I can pay my bills. Thus I have no pressure or anxiety about when my book will finish. It won’t be a pain even if my book takes another six months to complete. Writing requires a lot of discipline. The days when my job is not that demanding I write more. Days when I have more work, I write less. So I do both.
8. Swati Chandra: A writer is called the voice of his age. And India is currently witnessing an Award-waapsi, as you know. What according to you is the role of a writer in such a scenario? Also now that we come across a writer too often, has the pen weakened in its might or there is still some power left with the pen?
Ketan Bhagat: A very good question. We live in a time, where marketing is glorified.
You have writers, actors and politicians busy promoting themselves. If we take the example of Bollywood, you have certain actors who spend more time promoting than acting. Selling is quite exciting. Hence there is an urge to write quickly. So in this flood of abundance quality goes down. But ultimately there is an emergence of certain winners who stand the test of time. For example, there are so many commercial e-sites, yet you have an Amazon, or a Flipkart. So, I won’t say that the pen has lost its might. Now, it’s the time for real content to enter. When I had initially approached the publishers, no one was willing to accept my book and today I am myself surprised at the accolades it gets. I think it’s a good time if you really have the talent.
9. Swati Chandra: You mentioned in one of your interviews that India needs men and women of character. Would you like to elaborate? What is lacking in Indians? What young India needs?
Ketan Bhagat: I read Gita and I try to follow it. And I realise that so many years of education have earned us lot of degrees but our character has eroded. We are too busy celebrating our success which often is quite hollow. There is a controversy over everything.
Like I see a lot of women who are openly corrupt and abuse the laws that are actually meant to protect them. We are taught to respect women but they often abuse their privilege and no feminist ever raises a voice against them. We need good intentions, a good character else we will fall flat.
10. Swati Chandra: You also remarked that you need not give any message to the present youth as they themselves are quite smart. That’s really cool. But as a writer, what would you call your ‘Writing Mantra’?
Ketan Bhagat: There is no writing mantra as such. One must write by looking around, how someone goes through a particular phase of life, how he feels.
11. Swati Chandra: In one sentence tell me, ‘Why do you write’?
Ketan Bhagat: (Laughs) I have to find it really. Maybe because there is no one to listen to you.
12. Swati Chandra: In your office or at home, does being a writer give you more respect? Any leverage?
Ketan Bhagat: Well, at home in our family we never discuss writing. Luckily in India, maybe abroad too there is still some default respect attached to being a writer. I don’t know if I deserve that. People are polite to me because I write books. Producers and journalists give you respect. Being Chetan’s brother, the respect doubles. When I had started people would tell me that I would be ridiculed, that I am being a copycat. Today people come and say that I have inspired them, that I am a gutsy person. So I am happy. (Laughs again)
13. Swati Chandra: (laughs)You have a good sense of humour too! You are able to laugh at yourself!
Ketan Bhagat: People take themselves too seriously, take their lives too seriously. We shouldn’t. We should be able to laugh at ourselves.
14. Swati Chandra: That’s so well said. Thank you, Ketan for sparing your time, in which you might have been writing. We shall stay in touch. And keep laughing. Take care.
Ketan Bhagat: (Chuckles) Yes, yes! You too take care.
Ketan Bhagat can be reached at [email protected] To know more about him one can also visit his website- ketanbhagat.com He is also quite active on Facebook and Twitter.