Interview Questions You DON'T Want To Answer

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gladys Hobson on April 12, 2009 at 11:57am

That's a difficult one to answer for a start! I'm a very open person. Perhaps questions that should not be asked concerning other people's lives. Questions that require a straight yes or no, since things are seldom black and white. And I don't expect that will help you one little bit!

Permalink Reply by Chris Adams on April 12, 2009 at 1:09pm

@ Gladys
Thanks for the input, they were indeed helpful. The Yes/No question comment reminded me of an interview I watched with the singer of the band Coldplay, a majority of his answers were either yes or no, and I couldn't tell if he just didn't want to be there, or if the interviewer needed to revise his list of questions.

-Chris Adams (www.websitesforauthors.net)

Permalink Reply by Chris Adams on April 12, 2009 at 1:24pm

@ Tamara
Thanks for your reply! Your response explains perfectly why I posed this question. Depending on the interviewee and the purpose of the interview, there are certain questions that are irrelevant and disrespectful (as in the case of your "soft porn" question). The goal of any interview should be to provide unique insight for the listeners/viewers. In the case of author interviews I'm interested in the author's inspiration, what character they had the most fun writing about, etc.

-Chris Adams (www.websitesforauthors.net)

Permalink Reply by Susan Whitfield on April 12, 2009 at 1:18pm

On a LIVE radio show, I was asked why I wrote about a Testicle Festival in my book, Just North of Luck. My response: "I thought it would be fun to play with." Many snickers followed over the wire.

Permalink Reply by Chris Adams on April 12, 2009 at 1:34pm

;) I wonder what kind of response the interviewer was looking for.



-Chris Adams (websitesforauthors.net)

Permalink Reply by Susan Whitfield on April 12, 2009 at 2:56pm

Well, a good question, Chris. We were discussing the book, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina where there is no Testicle Festival, as far as I know. So the question is legitimate. I borrowed the tradition from the Rockies to add a little humor to an otherwise intense novel. I did comment on the air that I wrote a disclaimer in the front of the book that I really DID know that no festival of this kind exists in North Carolina. It was a funny scene in the book and I quite often get questions about it. I try to address it with humor. I suppose it does help readers remember my book.