Reflection

Last Wednesday’s interview with Robert W. Fieseler has been an experience filled with growth. As a young writer, I was able to listen and understand what it is like to write a non-fiction book and/ or novel, how research is conducted, and most importantly how to stay focused on my work. His knowledge and passion for writing was both refreshing and inspiring as I too, wish to be a published author some day in the future. I believe each student in the class was able to take at least one thing out of Fieseler’s interview — something that will help them in their careers as he provided lots of insight to the reality of the publishing world.

Though it was a tedious task to perform the amount of editing I did, I am happy that I decided to write my article in a Q & A format. This interview article style of a Q & A allows for a more coherent and fluent understanding of Fieseler’s words. While writing a narrative article would allow for a more personal style, I found that a Q & A would radiate what Fieseler said better; it is simply his own words, slightly enhanced. I think the hardest thing I had to do, in terms of preparing the article, was editing. A lot of time was spent on editing out filler words used by Fieseler. This is not a fault of him, of course, as we tend to use these filler words naturally when we speak.

Besides Fieseler's use of filler words, he extensively answered each question asked with such details that effectively supported what he was trying to say. The anecdotes he brought into his responses supplied us, the interviewers, with a better understanding of his life and his experiences; his anecdotes made his responses more personal, in turn creating a more interesting and engaging interview, however this also added to the difficulty of editing. As his responses were protracted, I found it difficult knowing what exactly to cut out. I often questioned if I am able to take a section out because I thought every word Fieseler spoke to be important to his answer — it brought character. I never realized how difficult editing was until I did it myself. I had always thought it was simple and clear cut; that an editor automatically knows what is needed and what needs to be let go, but I now understand that it is not as simple as it may seem.

Interviews, in general, are not as easy as they may seem. After being a part of Fieseler’s interview last Wednesday, I realized the importance of preparing questions before hand, and being an engaging interviewer. I think these two factors are the result of a swift interview process as having prepared interview questions alleviate awkward silences and any sign of unprofessionalism, and being an engaging interviewer allows for conversation while making the interviewee more comfortable; by being engaging, the interviewee may open up within their responses and feel welcomed and heard. I enjoyed this interview tremendously and have learned so much. I am looking forward to using this new knowledge in future endeavours.