Writing Podcast Episode 722: Anna Johnston dishes up her latest novel, 'When Lemons Give You Life'

Now, on with the show.

Now, I want to tell you about such an important question, one of the most important questions I ever asked in an interview.

And this is when I'm interviewing somebody for a piece, say, for the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age or any kind of piece of journalism.

And the thing is, this question is something in my early years I almost didn't ask.

So years ago, I was interviewing someone for a profile piece.

And it was a perfectly nice, perfectly ordinary conversation.

I'd worked through my list of questions in my notes.

I had everything I needed.

And I'd already clicked the recorder off, right? Like these days, it's voice memo.

But back then, it was a recorder.

And I started organizing my stuff to pack up my bag.

And then almost out of politeness, the way you do, I said, oh, is there anything else you'd like to add? Well, there turned out to be a great deal else.

The thing this person told me in the next 10 minutes with the recorder technically off and the notebook back in my bag was the actual story.

Everything before it had been the version they'd been media trained for, the version they rehearsed, the version they prepared for that morning or the night before.

This is the version they thought that I wanted.

And I've never forgotten it.

And I've come to believe that, you know, is there anything else you'd like to add might be the most underrated question.

Because here's what happens.

When we sit down to tell a story, ours or someone else's, we kind of tell the official version first, you know, the tidy one, the one with a clear beginning and a clear end.

And well, it's just tidy.

That's the best way to describe it.

And we've told it to ourselves sometimes so many times that we're sure it's the whole thing.

But the real story is almost always hiding just past where you thought it ended.

You know, just one more question, one more paragraph, one more.

And then what happened? So if you're a freelance writer who interviews people, that is one of the best questions I can recommend that you ask.

Now, on with the show.

Now, I want to tell you about such an important question, one of the most important questions I ever asked in an interview.

And this is when I'm interviewing somebody for a piece, say, for the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age or any kind of piece of journalism.

And the thing is, this question is something in my early years I almost didn't ask.

So years ago, I was interviewing someone for a profile piece.

And it was a perfectly nice, perfectly ordinary conversation.

I'd worked through my list of questions in my notes.

I had everything I needed.

And I'd already clicked the recorder off, right? Like these days, it's voice memo.

But back then, it was a recorder.

And I started organizing my stuff to pack up my bag.

And then almost out of politeness, the way you do, I said, oh, is there anything else you'd like to add? Well, there turned out to be a great deal else.

The thing this person told me in the next 10 minutes with the recorder technically off and the notebook back in my bag was the actual story.

Everything before it had been the version they'd been media trained for, the version they rehearsed, the version they prepared for that morning or the night before.

This is the version they thought that I wanted.

And I've never forgotten it.

And I've come to believe that, you know, is there anything else you'd like to add might be the most underrated question.

Because here's what happens.

When we sit down to tell a story, ours or someone else's, we kind of tell the official version first, you know, the tidy one, the one with a clear beginning and a clear end.

And well, it's just tidy.

That's the best way to describe it.

And we've told it to ourselves sometimes so many times that we're sure it's the whole thing.

But the real story is almost always hiding just past where you thought it ended.

You know, just one more question, one more paragraph, one more.

And then what happened? So if you're a freelance writer who interviews people, that is one of the best questions I can recommend that you ask.