Blog Chain: A talk with an author (Alive or Dead)


It's my turn! It's my turn!

Here we are with another round of the chain a'swinging, and it's my chance to ask (and answer) a question. I was thinking of making this a two-fer question. That's how excited I am. But I'll hold off and just ask one. I don't want to use up all my barely good material. Okay, here's my blogchain question:

If you could dine with any author, and I do mean any whether alive or dead (yes, we're going into the realms of time travel - but hey, we have science fiction writers on this chain so we can always ask for them to write up the time machine specs), who would you want to dine with? And if you can ask them for advice on one writing element you feel you might be struggling at, what would it be?


I wasn't sure how to answer this one myself. There are a lot of authors-- strangely, most of them are dead-- who I would love to have the pleasure to have a nice meal and a chat. The first author who pops into the mind  is J.R.R. Tolkien. I would find it fascinating to ask about his techniques on how to create such detailed worlds and scenes. But I'm not sure I could hold my tongue concerning some of his parts that seem... well, a bit fluffy--not so much as poor descriptions, just a bit long-winded and airy. Rather not spoil the dinner and find my meal in my lap as he storms out the room.


Another author who comes to mind involves Stephen King. I would love to ask him about his action scenes and how he can write with so many characters yet keep the plot flowing to a logical conclusion without any gaping plot holes or loose story lines leading into oblivion. But I'd be a bit nervous. He's probably ask for a midnight dinner on a stormy night in a haunted mansion, and I would be jumping at every shadow being stuck in a room with a master of horror writing. If the lights went out, I would run out the room screaming (especially if the maid named Annie Wilkes walks into the room holding a sledgehammer and talking about her pig and how I should write a story just for her-- loved King's "Misery" book).


But the one author I would love to dine and converse with would be Edgar Allan Poe. I would love to talk his ear off... perhaps that's not the best metaphor about having a conversation with someone who has been dead for awhile but deal with the mental image I implanted for a bit. I would want to talk about his unique style, his way of creating such descriptive scenes and character interactions in such a condensed way of short story fiction writing. I believe his voice is incredible, and learning to create such awe-inspiring short fiction can only relate into improving longer stories and plots that capture a reader's mind in ways I can only dream about.


So, while I scrub down the shovel and remove the muck from boots after my little hike into the cemetery, (no, I didn't write this as a primer for Halloween - it just happened that way, HONEST!) I would like to find out who you would dine and chat with for a night. Make sure to visit fellow blog chainer Eric for his answer to this topic.


If you will excuse me, I have a few leftover, decayed body parts I have to clean up from the dinner table.

14 comments:

  1. LOL! Great topic, Michelle. I'm going to have to really think about this one.

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  2. Absolutely awesome question, Michelle. This is going to be hard to answer, though I like your choice of Poe. I'll have to think on it a bit however. There are so many good authors to choose from.

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  3. Anonymous8:39:00 AM

    Great question! Love your list too--I'd definitely like to talk with all the authors you mentioned! :D

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  4. I love the way you answered this! May we choose multiple authors, or does it have to be only one?

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  5. Cole: Thanks! I was worried someone might have asked the question before.

    Eric: Poe definitely is THE author I'd like to talk with, if only to ask him what he thinks he died from, alcohol poisoning or lead exposure from the types of lamps they used back then, since it's such a mystery even today.

    Laura: It would be interesting to find out Tolkien's reaction over his stories, especially when telling him that people now watch his stories as movies.

    Sandra: Please do multiple authors, or only one if that's what you want. I would like to find out what type of writing aspects everyone looks for in their favorite authors' novels.

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  6. This is a tough one. You don't want to go too far back because what was once acceptable in writing no longer is. I would love to meet Jane Austen, but her advice might not be the best to follow.

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  7. Very funny answers to this question! Yes, Tolkien can be very long winded, and he'd probably put me to sleep at the dinner table. Stephen King I'd be too nervous to meet: too intimidating!

    Poe might be too intimidating for me as well, I'm not sure....

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  8. Oh, geez, this one's gonna be hard but lots of fun! I love that you picked Poe. :-)

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  9. Yes, Poe would be fascinating! I would love to see how his mind worked.

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  10. Hey! Great question. And I agree with you on Poe. What a fantastic conversation that would be.

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  11. Great topic, though this one was really hard for me. And I love your answer. A conversation with Poe would be mind-blowing for sure! :)

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  12. Great question! Love the three authors you picked to dine with as well!

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  13. LOL! I think you missed a body part ;-D

    What a great choice - he really would be fascinating to speak with. And I loved this topic! Excellent question :)

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  14. Ooo, Poe. Nice. *wants to be a fly on the wall*

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All comments are welcome. Thanks for stopping by!