necessary explanation. For greater variety it is advisable to alternate
direct and indirect quotations. A description of the person interviewed
and of his surroundings, by way of introduction, gives the reader a
distinct impression of the individual under characteristic conditions.
Or some striking utterance of his may be "played up" at the beginning,
to be followed by a picture of him and his surroundings. Interviews on
the same topic with two or more persons may be combined in a single
article.

The interview has several obvious advantages. First, the spoken word,
quoted _verbatim_, gives life to the story. The person interviewed seems
to be talking to each reader individually. The description of him in his
surroundings helps the reader to see him as he talks. Second, events,
explanations, and opinions given in the words of one who speaks with
authority, have greater weight than do the assertions of an unknown
writer. Third, the interview is equally effective whether the writer's
purpose is to inform, to entertain, or to furnish practical guidance.
Romance and adventure, humor and pathos, may well be handled in
interview form. Discoveries, inventions, new processes, unusual methods,
new projects, and marked success of any kind may be explained to
advantage in the words of those responsible for these undertakings.

In obtaining material for an interview story, a writer should bear in
mind a number of points regarding interviewing in general. First, in
advance of meeting the person to be interviewed, he should plan the
series of questions by which he hopes to elicit the desired information.
"What would my readers ask this person if they had a chance to talk to
him about this subject?" he must ask himself. That is, his questions
should be those that readers would like to have answered. Since it is
the answers, however, and not the questions, that will interest readers,