Flanagan, Martin Faces in the crowd
“Some hints on writing these sorts of stories: Have you ever listened to another person, particularly an old person, tell the story of their life? Investigate the time and place they are from. That will help you to find questions to ask. Then gently lead them back to their childhood. Ask them what their father did, what they remember of their mother, where they went to school, how many kids were in the class, etc.
Ask anything that helps you build a picture in your mind. Ask the questions in chronological order – that is, start with the person's birth, then go into their childhood, young adulthood etc. This will make the story easier to write since you can put down the details in precisely the same order that you were given them.
Give the person telling the story time to find their own way back into the experiences you are asking them to recount.
When writing the story, try and stick as close as possible to the person's language and rhythms of speech – try as best you can to pass on the picture the person gave you. Also try and give your impression of the person telling you the story – are they soft, hard, gruff, loud, gentle, etc.? Writing these sorts of stories is not that hard and, if you succeed, you'll have put something down in print that will be of interest to future generations”