How to: Screw up an interview

O yes, that’s an interesting title isn’t it?

So what did I do now? I will tell you…

I make a habit of doing things before I think.

You know that little voice people have that says: ‘Maybe you shouldn’t do that’ right before you do something stupid?

Well, it seems that with me, that little voice gets gagged and knocked unconscious before it even begins with that sentence.

So, I get a lot of ‘Why the hell did I do that?’ after I did something stupid…

 

Like now…

As a writer, when your book is published, the media is something you can’t avoid. And you shouldn’t. Because the media can help you sell books! How would people otherwise know that there is a brand new book waiting for them?

So when I got a call from one of the biggest newspapers in my country for an interview, I naturally agreed.

But…

Times have changed a bit.

When I looked for a book in the past, I couldn’t care less about who wrote it. I was just interested in buying a good book. I could walk right past my favorite writer on the street and not recognize him at all.

But nowadays, people like to know everything about the writer behind the book. And the media knows how to get it from you.

 

Most of you who read my blog for a while now, know about my ‘mask’ I wore for years. Not showing emotions, not talk about my past. But this all changed when I started writing about it.

I became much more open about what happened to me and shared my feelings with you all.

Strange fact: if you have been closed off for so long, it will take you some time to figure out who you are underneath the armor you used to wear. This may can cause that you are too open sometimes and your emotions will be a bit unstable for a while.

 

 All those feelings and emotions locked away for so long, they kinda like to come out all at once.

So when the reporter started to ask me questions like ‘Why do you write?’ and ‘How can you describe all those emotions in your book?’ I told her the truth.

I never have been much of a liar anyways, so when someone asks me a question, I most likely tell the hard truth. (not the most smart thing to do sometimes)

But the reporter was nice and I like talking about my book.

Little did I know that my background is way more interesting for some people than the fact that I wrote a book. Lol…

 So now a big part of the article goes about my past and my PTSD. (and I am happy they don’t even know half the story!)

And then the little voice that should have warned me to not do anything stupid in the first place, has instantly regain its consciousness and shouts: ‘What the hell did you do now?’

Yeah…

 

Okay, at least part of the article is going about my book and my poetry book. And they chose a great photo to go with it lol! 🙂

But there’s also a bit of ‘that’s such a sad story’ in it.

And I don’t want people to pity me for what happened to me, I want them to like my writing!

Anyways, it happened and I can’t turn back time, so it’s not much use to keep moaning about it. At least I learned something out of this. I definitely need some media training lol!

Moral of this story? Well, I guess that I know now that, besides from being too closed up, there also exist something like being too open. It’s a thin line to walk, I can tell you that.

So, do some preparations before you give an interview, my friends. Take some time to think about what things you want in that article and what things you don’t. Because believe me, they will ask you all kinds of questions and they will use your answers as well!

But on the other hand, I am also a bit glad that the interview turned out this way. Everyone seems to like the interview. This in fact a piece of my past and I do have PTSD. I am who I am and I can’t change that. I also hope that maybe some people can get some strength out of this when they read that, even when you have been through an awful lot, you still can accomplish good things as well…

 

Lots of love

Patty