INTERVIEW MAY BE REVERSED

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I remember reading about a reporter who said that once in awhile the pattern of an interview with a subject takes on an unexpected turn. The reporter suddenly realizes he or she is being interviewed-- that the roles have switched. This happened to me often before I retired, and such subjects are usually individuals who have an intense curiosity about everything and everybody.

The interviews are stimulating and fun. But you have to stay on your toes and use self-control and ingenuity to obtain information about your subject before the interview is over.
Talking about oneself can be heavy, especially for a writer.
But, I guess when you are in a profession where your success depends upon public recognition and acceptance, "writers, politicians, actors, etc"...,you have to be something of a ham.

Many people who aren't in such professions find it difficult to understand why anyone would deliberately seek personal publicity. I know some introverts who say such publicity would be embarrassing to them. I don't think these people could ever be politicians, as they'd be too modest to say they were "the best for the job."

There is a difference in conceit and self-confidence. Conceit is an exaggerated estimate of one's ability and importance. On the other hand,self-confidence means to have confidence in one's ability, one's judgment, and so forth. We've all noticed that the person who has let a bit of success go to his head tends to rest on his laurels. He forgets there is standing room only at the top with no room to sit down. And one can't rest very often on the way up the mountain of success. There are always others coming up behind you.

New writers get a special kind of thrill the first time they see their work in print. They can't help but savor every word printed under that shiny byline. Actually, I don't think any writer ever gets indifferent to by-lines, especially when you feel you've written something well. I read my own printed writings now for self-criticism. Also, while I could never recite verbatim anything I've written, I can spot in an instant a changed word, or any form of editing, in the published piece.
I think everybody needs an editor as no matter how beautiful your prose sounds to you, it can usually be improved by editing.
But, there is danger in too much sell-criticism. The critic that lives in all of us will question at once the seed of an idea. So, it's best to play around with the idea before rejecting it as too stale or dull.

See you next time.