An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.
I must admit, this assignment is the one that scares me the most. Hopefully this chapter can help me out, because I have zero clue how I’m going to do this.
“A profile is a portrait in words.” Show, not tell–I’ve heard that before.
Step 1: find a profile subject. Haven’t done this yet. This person should represent a career, trend, philosophy, or lifestyle. I have a feeling this person will end up being a musician, because I’m fascinated by them and, in my experience, can’t seem to get away from them. I’ve never conducted an interview, but I know how to ask questions about music.
One page in and I’m learning the difference between a profile and a biography.
Wait! Maybe I want to do the profile on my French teacher last semester. She is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met; why didn’t I think of this before?! Duh. Forget musicians. Now I’m excited.
Okay, back to the book. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I find the “Anatomy of a (fill in the blank: memoir, news story, film review, profile)” section extremely helpful. It’s easy to glaze over an example without really reading it, but with these the red notes keep me paying attention. It’s also a million times more helpful to see an example of a “nut graf” (what?) than simply a definition.
Stuff to throw in:
- physical description
- quotations
- quotations about the subject
- examples
- anecdotes
- factual information (background and context)
Research paths:
- Social media
- Online searches and databases
- Direct observation
- Interviews (the big one: start early, set it up in subject’s workplace/home, make a contact list, do your homework, prepare, conduct, observe, transcribe, read. Got it.)
I loved the Powers profile. It was hilarious. It reminded me of a similarly terrifying teacher I had in high school, whose class I loved, and made me wish Powers still taught here. (Actually I don’t know for a fact whether he does or doesn’t…I’ll look into it)
I went into this chapter in a panic, with absolutely no idea who I would be writing about, and came out of it with a subject and psyched to get started. I think it worked.
Com 201 