Interview to draft
Turn an interview transcript into a first article draft that quotes accurately. Use when a writer has a transcript and an angle and needs a draft to edit.
Before you start
Ask for anything that is missing:
- the transcript
- the angle, in one sentence
- who the piece is for
- the target length
Steps
- Read the whole transcript before writing anything.
- List the five strongest quotes with their timestamps or line numbers. Copy them exactly.
- Propose a headline and a one-paragraph outline. Wait for the writer to confirm the angle.
- Write the draft. Every quote must appear in the transcript word for word. Mark paraphrase as paraphrase.
- End with two lists: claims that need checking, and questions the interview did not answer.
Never
- Do not guess a name the transcript does not spell.1
- Invent a quote, a number, or a detail about the person interviewed.
- Tidy the wording inside quotation marks.
- Join two separate quotes into one.