Beginning writers are terrified at the thought of conducting an interview. Will I ask the right questions? Will I come across as a professional writer? Will I be considered pushy?

One day I bravely stepped up to the customer service desk and asked what happens if there is a robbery. I assured the girl that I didn't plan to rob a bank (she was glad to hear that), but am working on a story where my character witnesses a bank robbery. I needed to find out if my character should be inside the bank or outside to witness the get-away car.

When I needed some information about sheet metal workers, I asked my brother. He's manager of a shop that works with sheet metal.

While working on "Jackhammer of the Forest" (Wee Ones Magazine, March 2007) I e-mailed Cornell University to verify information about the pileated woodpecker.

Asking such questions to these different sources is not considered doing an interview, but verifying facts.

I have not yet conducted an interview in relation to writing, but I worked a good many years as an insurance claims adjuster. Back when they decided to take a man off the road and put a girl on the telephone, I had to take recorded statements. I didn't have much of any training, just a list of questions to ask. This is how my first interview went: I asked the questions on my list without really listening to the answers. After all, I had it on tape and could listen to it later.

Years later I heard one of our new adjusters ask, "Were you alone in the car?" "Did you have any passengers?" Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but if the first question was answered "Yes" then the second question was redundant. Was she listening to the answer or just going down the printed list as I had done? If the answer was "No", the next question should have been "How many passengers did you have?" or "Could you give me the names of your passengers."

One day I called the doctor's office to make an appointment for my husband. The girl asked the routine questions - date of birth, age (I could never figure out why they need to know the age when they have the date of birth, but that's beside the point). Then she asked if Norman is my son. Now Norman was 87 years old at the time. How old did she think I'd be to be bringing my son? When I shared that with the nurse we both had our laugh for the day. In case you're wondering, I'm nowhere near his age.

Whether doing an interview over the telephone or in person, listen to what is being said. I learned that by listening, I came up with questions of my own to ask, which made for a better and detailed statement.

It's a good idea to record the interview, whether it's taken in person or over the telephone. And make sure the recorder is turned on. (I've had that experience - concluded my interview and found I hadn't turned on the recorder.) In the event a question comes up later, the person's own voice is there for proof.

Before even contacting anyone for an interview, write down the questions you want to ask. It's important to let him know that it's being recorded. One thing I was taught was not to ask if it's okay to record. He'll have an option to say no, then where would I be? I said, "This interview will be recorded for our records." If, at that point he refuses to have it recorded, be nice and don't turn on the recorder. You'll have to do your best, though, to get the information you need. At the end of the interview, I always asked, "Do you understand this interview has been recorded?" No one can come back later and say, "I didn't know you were recording this."

Of course, now interviews are done through e-mail as well. The other person, reading e-mail, will have time to think it through before answering. However, the answers may bring up more questions in your mind and you'll have to contact him again.

Stories For Children put out a request for articles for September, October, and November. Since a week in October is designated Fire Prevention Week, I submitted an article about the history of fire fighting, including the Bucket Brigade. The editor e-mailed right back, asking how many buckets of water it would take to put out a house fire.

If I called the fire department, probably within five minutes that big red truck would show up at my front door. So I did the next best thing.

My brother's brother-in-law is a firefighter. I wondered if he'd been given that information in training. Firemen are busy people. If I prepared an interview I would have to track him down and wait until he had time to talk to me. Instead, I e-mailed him. He had the weekend to come up with an answer. And figure it out, he did. Mathematically.

After the first interview, will the next be easier? Probably not. Each will be different, but it'll get easier with practice. It's okay if you get more information than you need for the project you're working on. Consider it a bonus to be used in another article.

Grab that paper and pencil and think through what you need to know and make a list. Then make that call to set up an interview and you're on your way to a successful story or article.