{"id":11372,"date":"2024-07-18T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/07\/18\/interview-story-pitch-character-prereporting\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T16:52:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T16:52:18","slug":"interview-story-pitch-character-prereporting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2024\/07\/18\/interview-story-pitch-character-prereporting\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of the narrative interview: Pre-interviewing for a successful pitch"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: This is the second post in our five-part series on the art of the interview from narrative journalist and teacher Kim Cross. In the opening piece, Cross notes the need for an interviewing approach that is different<\/a> than that she learned about straightforward news reporting. He, she focuses on the pre-interviewing that\u2019s needed for a successful story pitch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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There is no narrative writing without narrative reporting. And the first challenge of narrative writing is finding a viable story \u2014 a story that contain the elements of a narrative and allows you access to those elements. The key element is almost always character.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Here\u2019s my simplified definition of a narrative: A character struggles through an ordeal that produces insight or change.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Ordeal implies a source of tension \u2014 the engine of narrative writing. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin<\/a> calls it \u201cintent and obstacle.\u201d The character wants something, but has to overcome challenges standing in the way. I like \u201cordeal\u201d because an ordeal can be frightening or funny, life-altering or comically inconvenient. The ordeal is something the character experienced firsthand. The character must struggle against and through that ordeal in some way.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Many pitches are rejected due to a lack of specificity. The writer wants to write about some particular topic or an issue. That\u2019s a start. If the topic interests you enough, you are motivated to learn more. But learning about the topic is not enough to frame it as a story.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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\u201cPut a human face on it,\u201d many editors say. Find a character struggling through the issue in some very specific way. That struggle is a source of tension, and tension is the narrative engine.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Scouting for the right character<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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So how do you find the character that makes the story? One who lets you follow them through a journey that engages the reader intellectually and emotionally?<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Figure out where that character might gather or connect with other like-minded (or like-problemed) individuals, or with people who are affected by or care deeply about the issue you want to explore. It could be a place (the food stamps line, a drag club, a senior center, an ER waiting room) or an organized gathering (a protest march, a class, a book club meeting, a church service). As an outsider, it can sometimes be easier to approach a group of people who might be wary about the press when they\u2019re alone alone but feel comfort and in their togetherness.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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The art of the narrative interview<\/h2>\n\n
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Introduction:\u00a0News interviews vs story interviews<\/a><\/p>\n

Phase I:\u00a0Pre-interviewing for the pitch<\/p>\n

Phase II: Interviewing for story arc<\/a><\/p>\n

Phase III: Interviewing for sequence<\/a><\/p>\n

Phase IV: Interviewing for scene<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\t\n<\/div> \n

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If you can\u2019t find an organic gathering, chances are there\u2019s an advocacy group or agency that wants to raise awareness for this issue. If your story can educate readers, those advocates or officials have a vested interest in helping you. Figure out if the group has a media contact, PR professional, marketing chief or spokesperson. Then ask for an  informational interview. Use that interview to learn more about the issue so you have your foundation of facts in place. At the same time, explain that you need to find a person who embodies the matter at hand. Often, the official will have someone top-of-mind; sometimes they have to do a little searching on their end. Either way, they are helping their cause while they help you find your story.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Useful questions for the informational interview:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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