Interviews, Part 1

When I first got sucked in, er, got interested in Circus, I had the opportunity to talk to some real honest-to-goodness circus folks. I didn't take it completely seriously, but then I got my first interview (albeit through email) and I felt like a real honest-to-goodness writer. Funny.

Some of the people I've interviewed, whether it is in person or through email or a chat, have been a bit on the reluctant side. It's almost like they don't want to talk to me, and I can fully understand that. People who are circus are worried about writers like me; it is very easy to show the circus in a negative light, to show the seedy underbelly, to show what is wrong.

I have made a conscious effort in my preparation to be working on a positive story with a positive outcome. I have read some of the horror stories of circus, and have had some of my interviewees come up with some really harrowing and horrifying stories of circus. But to publish a book of that type, with that type of negative outlook, would remove some of the magic of circus, and I don't want to be the one to do that.

The truth is, there is good in circus, too. From the powerful, amazing athleticism of the performers to the way all members of circus pull together to produce a show no matter what the circumstances. The weather can be awful, tents can fail, sponsors can be non-supportive, performers can be hurt, and animals can be ill or even perish. The ability for the circus to work together as a family is critical to its long-term success. This is true for the largest and smallest of circuses.

I have gone out of my way to assure all of my interviewees that I'm not writing a circus exposee. My story will be a work of fiction, but it will be a work of fiction I will weave with stories of real circus, real circus performers, and real circumstances that circuses have faced. The interviews are critical to my research, and critical to the success of my book. I need honest, informational interviews, and I can't get that unless the performers and circus people I'm interviewing believe that I am only here for the good of their cause.

I never took a journalism class in school. Now I wish I had. I think I could be a much better interviewer if I had some tips to follow. But in my own way I'm muddling through, and getting some great responses.