Where in your environment are you the most prolific?
Is there a specific area in your house or apartment—or city, even—in which you find it easiest to focus and write? Perhaps, the couch nestled by the fireplace—or the chaise facing the window on the second floor? Is there a place you know that absolutely emanates of Writer’s Block?
This past weekend, I set up a short phone interview with a really bright, ambitious, and precocious young man who had just been appointed to the Governor’s Statewide Youth Council here in Massachusetts. As part of this council, his role was to represent the voices of minority youth and speak up about issues that plague our young adult population these days—education inequality, bullying, and violence, for example. He already had his hands in a variety of humanitarian causes, and he was quite well spoken and confident in his mission. I could tell while talking to him that he was going to be one of those people who worked hard to make a difference.
I’m extremely excited about my next project this month. It sprung up a few weeks ago because of my last assignment—my interview with A.R. Rahman at the Berklee College of Music here in Boston. A publicist for a burgeoning Indian-American folk musician named Zoya Mohan got in touch with the news about an upcoming album release and asked if I’d consider doing a feature profile for my primary publication, India Abroad, to educate readers about it.
I love this stuff—talking to artists about their craft and getting to really showcase a person’s story. After a discussion with my editor, I set up a time with Zoya to meet for an interview at a local Boston coffee shop. We’re scheduled to chat this Tuesday evening after my work at my publishing company. But there’s always a bit of prep that’s involved, and that’s what I’m sharing with you here.
So far, here’s what I’ve done to get ready:
WriterLab 