Writing a Successful Interview by thequeentitania |  |
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DEEP CATACOMBS - As one of the most commonly published type of article, the classic
interview piece is one of the best ways to write an interesting article. One of
the reasons for writing an interview is its relatively simple format. People enjoy
reading interviews because it gives them a chance to learn more about some of
the more elusive characters in Neopia. However, writing a quality interview is
a much more difficult project, than it may originally seem to be. Because of this,
I have gathered together my usually jumbled thoughts, and have written this article
in order to help others write exceptional interview articles for every Neopian
to enjoy.
1. Be Original
This rule is number one because it is the most important. I mean, I know when
Meridell was first discovered I went nearly insane with boredom from all of
the Illusen and Jhudora interviews. There are millions of characters in Neopia
that are just waiting for interviews, all you have to do is find them. I don't
ever recall having seen an interview with one of the characters that appears
only on a collectable trading card. There are plenty of game hosts to interview,
as the only one article I've seen about one was about the Grundo running 'Kiss
the Mortog'. And what about Battledome challengers? Personally, I would love
to read an interview with the Cave Chia or Vira. The gallery of evil is another
good place to look. I'm sure that the Ghost Lupe would be perfectly willing
to grant interviews as long as you remembered to bring him a chocolate Chia.
Another idea would be to interview one of the minor characters from one of the
mystery games, like the parrot that gave out hints during 'Usurper'. Despite
the enormous number of characters Neopets have provided us with to interview,
there are even more if you make one up. One of the interviews that I enjoyed
most was done by fuzzifeline. In her article she interviewed a random dark Faerie.
I think I enjoyed it the most because it was a completely original idea, was
completely plausible, and was humorous at the same time. As anyone can see from
the extensive list I just made, there are plenty of Neopians to interview as
long as you are willing to focus on someone that is not in the spotlight at
the moment.
2. Research, Research, Research
Before writing a single word it is important to do the research. When writing
an article for The Neopian Times I find it very important is to provide information
that seamlessly blends with the rest. Since the Neopets Staff are the ultimate
authority on the characters in Neopets, it is important to know everything they
have said about your topic. It is not a good idea to contradict something written
in the Neopedia because this makes your article harder to believe. If the Neopedia
says that it took Edna the Witch two hundred moons to learn to ride her broom
stick, then unless you can come up with a really good reason for why the Neopedia
got the information wrong, then don't say it took her 3 weeks.
There are certain places that you should always check to learn more about
a certain character. If you are interviewing one that runs a game or shop, then
the first place you should look for information is that page. While it may not
seem important that the Breadmaster says "Yo, Eata loafa breada day!" it is.
This statement tells you what accent the Breadmaster has, and what kind of words
he would be likely to use. You should also wait around a little while to see
what kind of items a certain shop stocks the most of and what it runs out of
the fastest.
Most games with hosts also have statements by their hosts, and some, like
Dice-A-Roo even give you a link to their articles in the Neopedia, which is
the very next place you should look, whether or not there is link. The Neopedia
is by far the place that you will find the most information about your character,
as long as they are actually in the Neopedia. Take careful note of everything
the article says about them, and try to find any related articles. Brucy B.
does have an article, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't also read the one
entitled Cheat: The Big Heist. Since Brucy B. is a co-host of cheat, it would
also be a good idea to play a game and try to gather information there and to
also look up all of the other hosts of the game to get a feel for the people
Brucy works with. If the character you are interviewing is evil, it would be
a good idea to look them up in the Gallery of Evil. Balthazar is in both the
Gallery of Evil and the Neopedia, and both have very different information about
him. Next stop is the Collectable Card Spoiler List. While finding the right
character may be a bit tedious as there are fifteen fairies, the information
on the card will make it worth it. After all of this, it is time for the Battledome.
The easiest way to find out if the character you are interviewing is a One-Player
Battledome Opponent is to look it up at one of the Neopet help sites. I personally
suggest pinkpoogletoy.com, which will also tell you where to go to find this
opponent. Once you have looked at their description on the 'Opponents Found'
page, challenge them to a battle. In my opinion it is not terribly important
whether your pet wins or loses. The important thing is that you stay in the
battle long enough to find out what their special moves are, what kind of weapons
they are carrying, and most importantly what sort of comments they make between
moves. The last step in gathering information is not only the least important,
but the most tedious. Because of this, many people may choose to skip this step,
and I don't think anyone can blame them. Now the time has come to wade through
the New Features and Neopian Times Editorials. It won't be fun, but you just
might find something in there. Admittedly, only a small portion of what you
discover will actually make it to the article, but it is important to know everything
you can about the character so that your article can be as accurate as possible.
3. Don't Ignore Other People's Articles
Just because you weren't the one that wrote that other interview with Illusen
doesn't mean that it isn't important to read the other article. And just because
you aren't going to ignore the other article, doesn't mean that you have to
follow that article's lead. Reporters are fallible, and you can find ways to
accept what they have written, but still contradict it. In an article discussing
Ryshu and codestones, azurerayen did an excellent job of taking into account
what people before her had said. First she mentioned the article and what it
had said, then gave the reason that Ryshu had been hoarding the codestones.
In order to create a seamless whole as best as possible, take into account what
other people write and make your own take on it.
4. Tell the Whole Story
Some people write articles that leave a part out because it seems obvious. The
first example that comes to mind is the article 'Kiss the Mortog: The Truth
Behind the Explosive Game' by poy222. It's obvious that based on the story the
Grundo told, there is a limited number of Mortogs that have the ability to turn
into Princes and Princesses. This makes it likely that 'Kiss the Mortog' had,
based on the article, a limited amount of time before it would have to close
down. While Kiss the Mortog is currently not available, it probably would have
been a good idea to add a comment about how the Grundo 'refused to comment on
where his seemingly never ending supply of Royalty turned-mortog came from.'
While many good articles do this, such glossing over can make an article look
unfinished, therefore, before submitting an article look through it to make
sure that you didn't leave anything out that might have this effect. Even better,
show your article to a friend who can look over it and tell you if something
doesn't seem to add up.
5. Fill in the Gaps
When someone else makes the mistake of not putting in the whole story, they
give you a chance to write your own that fills in the gaps they left. Maybe
the Grundo running 'Kiss the Mortog is secretly kidnapping all of the Princes
and Princesses that are freed and turning them back into Mortogs. If other people
have the same question you do about an article, and you can answer it for them,
they will probably enjoy reading what you have to say.
6. Editing
This is the last step in writing any sort of story or article. A piece that
has numerous spelling and grammatical errors is likely to annoy those who read
it simply because it will be harder to understand. There is a reason why computers
have spell check and authors have editors to tear apart their books before they
get published. If at all possible have a friend go over it. It is a fact that
since you know what you meant to write, you are likely to miss what is actually
there.
I hope that you have found something in this article useful, and that it leads
to many high quality interviews in the future.
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