Rewrites Lead To More Writing Assignments

Author: Michelle J. Dyett-Welcome

If at first you don’t succeed try, try and try again. This has become my new philosophy in life. With each rejection letter I recite to myself, “try again.” I am a new writer. My writing career turned from hobby to career due to a medical illness. I, like so many other writers, lack a tremendous amount of confidence in my writing skills. Nonetheless, I decided to pursue diverse writing opportunities to see where they would take me.

As a member of the Fiction Christian Writer’s group, I received an e-mail advertising a writing opportunity to do music reviews for Grassroots Music magazine. The pay was minimal but it was an open door with endless possibilities. My inner voice tried to discourage me. “You can’t do this. Are you crazy? Don’t make a fool of yourself,” but I sent a query anyway—defying my inner voice.

I waited on pins and needles doubting all the way that I did the right thing. When Mike, the editor, contacted me and gave me the specifics I knew I was out of my league but I forged ahead. Within a few weeks I received a package of CDs to review. I had expected to get instructions or guidelines to help me write the reviews. No such luck.

I listened to the CDs and did my first drafts. With feelings of trepidation I sent the drafts to the editor, Mike. As I waited for his response my inner voice began to speak. I was ready to bow out gracefully. Then I got his response. He liked the drafts for the most part. He made a few suggestions which I gratefully accepted and within a month I had my first three music reviews posted on the Grassroots Music website.

In the months that followed I wrote several more reviews for Grassroots Music magazine and my confidence began to blossom—so much so I desired to try my hand at a music interview.

I wrote Mike and told him of my desire. In December 2005, he gave me my first assignment. I was nervous. How do you do a music interview? What types of questions should you ask?

This time I sent a laundry list of questions to Mike for guidance and clarification.

Thank God he was supportive and willing to guide me through the process. He gave me a few pointers: don’t ask questions that everyone asks, try to get to know the artist, ask questions that will make him think and probe beneath the surface. After you get all the facts weave the interview into a story.

Yeah right! How can all of that be done?

Mike helped me to see that the thread that weaved the whole interview together was “shoes.” I was able to use the fact that the artist was a shoe store owner in conjunction with his metaphorical philosophy to “pass the shoe” to budding artists by allowing them to debut at his shoe store.

For this interview, “If the Shoe Fits”, I had to make one revision and Mike made minor changes which enhanced the piece. Some writers would have gotten upset over word changes, but not I. I was grateful. I discovered a few new words in this process such as, tenny (tennis shoes or sneakers), disparate and dichotomy. I learned how to weave an interview into a story and I realized that I have the ability to do interviews.

My motto now is to “try and try” for it’s the only way to “learn and grow.”

By walking out in faith God has shown me that He will provide people who are willing and able to teach me. But I must have a teachable spirit.

Tips on how to do a music interview:

Be Prepared

Research the interviewee on the web, library, and Amazon.com. Find out all you can about the artist and his/her craft.
Sample the artist’s work. Listen to his/her music. Read his/her book. Watch his/her play.
Develop your interview questions. Make a list of probing, thought provoking questions that go deeper than the surface.
Practice. Rehearse your questions in front of the mirror, friends, or family members. Practicing can reduce, if not eliminate, the butterflies in your stomach.
Be yourself. You don’t have to be Barbara Walters or Ted Koppel. Be comfortable with who you are. If you stutter, make a mistake, or draw a blank laugh about it; use humor to get past the mistake. Everyone at some point makes mistakes.

Be Teachable

Don’t act like you know all there is to know about the artist. He or she is the expert on who he/she is, his/her motivations, and his/her craft.
Look at the interview assignment as a lesson. Learn from it.
Your editor can help you develop your craft and fine tune your skills. Accept his/her critiques with an open mind.
Ask questions. If you need clarification about the assignments ask. The only foolish question is the one not asked.
Do your best and never compare yourself with others.
Proofread. Ask a writing colleague to proofread, critique, and/or edit your article.
Make revisions as necessary.