Writing for mags like The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, etc.

We welcome you to the tug and grunt of the board, AD. And thanks for the terrific elaboration on the phone interview point. You're absolutely right.

 

A thought to add to jgmacg's epic post, and this specifically relates to dealing with pro athletes: be passionate about what they're passionate about.

I know that sounds simple, but I'm consistently amazed by the reaction when you really want to discuss what it is an athlete does. Not the salary #s and coaching bullshit and latest rumors, but his craft.

The first question might get you a pat answer. Same for the second. But press on and soon he'll realize that - hey, this guy actually cares. Remember, this man has been honing this set of skills his entire life and takes immense pride in them. Speak his language, and give a shit about the minutiae, and he'll open up. Notice the tiny details - if it's a basketball player, maybe it's how he uses a closed-fist forearm to push off on a screen - and then talk about them.

Once you've developed that level of trust, I've found, you can go just about anywhere with the conversation.

 

oh no...i'm hooked. Ch. B: You are dead on. People don't lie when they are passionate. They can't help themselves. Talk to a subject about his passion, and if he sees you're not being fradulent, that you're not just sucking up to get to the good stuff, that you actually care, he'll open up further. Ballplayers think what we think is important -- gossip, feuds, salaries -- is minor bullshit. But talk about the intricacies of facing a curveball? They'll never shut up. Ignore that? Dismiss it because you want to get a quote you can carry to other clubhouse? They'll rightly take it -- if only subconsciously -- as disrespecting the thing they most care about. End result? One horrible cliche after another.

 

Welcome AD, great stuff.

On that same note: Jgmacg mentioned the art of Shut Up. Watch what happens when you're interviewing someone, and they stop talking....and you just sit and wait. Almost always, they'll continue, if you look intent and fascinated and riveted for more.

(Of course, if they really are done, you risk looking like a dunce, so pick your moments.)

 

Well, some ballplayers will react that way. Others will sit there, stare blankly and spit into a cup. Don't think there's a deeper side to everyone. Sometimes people who perform a physical feat especially well just do it and never think that much about it. Kind of like when you see a feature where a player is asked what he would do if he wasn't a baseball player and his answer is, "pro golfer." And you want to grab him by the throat and say, "No, no, no, this means what would you do with your life if you weren't gifted with athletic ability and hand-eye coordination in the top two percentile." But it never crosses their mind that maybe with a random gene floating some other way, they wouldn't have those skills.

So, by all means, take a shot at finding that deeper meaning. But don't be disappointed if you don't get it. It might not be your fault.

 

I now realize that I don't belong in the same room as The JG.
I just got done reading his post on the art of writing.
I'm humbled that he shared and feel smarter just from having read it.

 

We all belong here, and that's the real beauty of this thread. Not that The Jones and The JG and many other wonderfully talented people are sharing all of this information, but that they're sharing it with us, and that we're being encouraged to give back what we can in return.

Don't feel inadequate because of that.....feel proud and feel honoured. And soak it all up.

 

How about we keep this thread on the first page?

 

How about a sticky?

 

Don't forget the Workshop's build-your-own taco bar.

I'd be happy enough with the link upstairs, certainly, but we get so much more traffic down here that I'd be tickled with a sticky on this board too if there was sufficient interest in the material.

I'll let playthrough decide. Maybe we sticky it for a while and then let nature take its course.