writer interview questions: 38 Common Writer Interview Questions

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    2023-05-01T12:09:22+00:00

    When you’re interviewing for a writing job, there are some common questions you’ll be asked. These include: What’s your experience? How long does it take you to write an article or short story? Do you have any questions for us about this position or our company in general? For more information on these and other common interview questions related specifically to writing jobs, check out this list of 38 popular writer interview questions!

    1. What are your strengths?

    This is a great question to start with because it allows you to highlight your best assets, which can be helpful in showing employers who you are as a person and why they should hire you over other applicants. You can also use this opportunity to talk about how these strengths will help you succeed on the job! For example:

    • I’m great at prioritizing tasks and making sure everything gets done on time. This has been very important in previous jobs where I had to manage large workloads or work under tight deadlines. In fact, some of my colleagues have even commented on how well-organized I am!
    • I love working with people from different backgrounds and cultures because it helps me learn new things every day–and that’s one of my biggest strengths (alongside determination).

    2. What are your weaknesses?

    This is an opportunity to show your interviewer that you are a real person and not just someone who has read their way through the job description. Answer this question by thinking about your weaknesses in terms of how they affect your work and what steps you’ve taken to mitigate them.

    If a weakness of yours is that you are too much of a perfectionist, don’t say it! This will come across as insincere and self-centered–and no one wants to hire someone who seems like they might micromanage every aspect of their job. Instead, share something like: “I’m always striving for perfection but sometimes my attention gets diverted onto other tasks before I finish what I started.” Or if procrastination is holding back some aspect of your productivity at work, talk about why this happens (e.g., “I tend to get distracted by social media”) and how often (e.g., “I spend at least 30 minutes per day browsing Facebook”). Then provide specific examples of how this affects both yourself (e.g., “It means I take longer than necessary on projects because there’s always something new popping up”) as well as others around them (e..g., “My boss never knows when deadlines will actually be met”).

    3. How would you describe your experience as a writer?

    This question is fairly straightforward, but it can be tricky to answer. You want to show that you have experience in the field and are familiar with the work of other writers.

    Also, if they ask this question, they’re probably looking for a specific type of writer–for example, someone who has experience writing articles or books instead of scripts or screenplays. If this is the case, make sure your answer reflects that!

    4. What’s the most challenging part of writing for you?

    When asked about the most challenging part of writing, I always say that it’s getting started. It takes me a while to start writing anything because I’m a perfectionist and want everything I write to be perfect–but once I do get going, things go pretty smoothly.

    5. How do you approach the creation of a story?

    When it comes to the creation of a story, there are many different ways that writers approach the process. Some writers start with an idea and then develop it into a story; others start with a character or setting and build from there. In order to write your novel, you need to come up with an original idea that will be interesting enough for readers.

    Once you have your idea in mind, it’s time to develop it into something more concrete–namely: an outline! This is where most authors begin their novels by listing all of their scenes out on paper (or digitally). This will help keep track of where things go throughout the book so that nothing gets lost along the way.

    6. Can you describe an example of a story that wasn’t well received by readers and tell us why you think that happened, and what you learned from it?

    What to say:

    • “I had a story that didn’t do very well with readers. It was about a woman who was in love with her best friend’s boyfriend, and she pretended to be the girlfriend so they could spend time together. There were some issues with how I handled her motivation for doing this–it felt like she was only doing it because she wanted him sexually, which wasn’t true at all–but what I learned from that experience is that you need to make sure your characters’ actions make sense within themselves.”

    7. How long does it take you to write an average article or short story?

    This is a really important question because it will give you an idea of how much time you’ll have to devote to writing. If you’re working with a daily or weekly deadline, this can be crucial information.

    If they ask how long it takes to write an article or short story, make sure you’re clear on what they mean by “average.” Do they mean that? Or do they want your best guess at how long it would take for the topic at hand? If there’s any ambiguity here–and there often is–ask them directly what kind of answer they’re looking for!

    8. What do you think is the most important thing to keep in mind when writing fiction, nonfiction or poetry?

    • Keep the reader’s attention. You want to make sure that your story is interesting and exciting enough for people to keep reading.
    • Use the right word choice. Make sure you choose words that fit with the style of writing you are using and don’t slow down the pace of your story by using too many complicated words or phrases that may cause confusion for readers who are not familiar with them, such as technical terms from specific fields like science or medicine.
    • Write in a conversational style (or “writing as if speaking”). When writing fiction or nonfiction, use short sentences and paragraphs; this makes it easier for readers to follow along without getting lost in long sentences full of complicated syntaxes like subordinate clauses, which can sometimes be difficult for some people who aren’t native speakers of English (or any other language) because they have never learned how these structures work before coming here! But if possible avoid using slang altogether–it might sound cool but it won’t give any credibility whatsoever!

    9. Do you have any questions for us about this position or our company in general?

    This is your opportunity to ask questions that will help you determine if the job and the company are right for you. It’s also an opportunity to show the interviewer that you’ve done your research on the company and its products/services, which can give them confidence in hiring someone who knows what they’re doing.

    For example: “I’m very interested in getting started as soon as possible so I can hit the ground running,” or “I’ve been following [company] closely ever since [popular news article]. What has been happening within [industry] recently?”

    We hope these questions have helped you get a better idea of what the writer interview process is like, and how to prepare for it. If you still have questions about any aspect of writing, feel free to reach out via email or phone! We’re always happy to answer any questions from aspiring writers who want more information on our company or positions available within it.

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