If you could ask any author (alive or dead) one question, what would it be and who would you ask?
I’d love to chat with Edgar Allan Poe. A palpable sadness bleeds through his writing. It’s no secret tragedy followed him throughout his life, but his story still seems incomplete.
Asking him only one question might be near-impossible for me. 😉
What a great question, Sue.While I’d love to ask William Shakespeare, “Is it really you writing all these plays?” I’m afraid I might get an answer like, “Thou wimpled ill-breeding pignut!”
I might choose William Sydney Porter (better known as O. Henry) who was wildly popular in his day and published hundreds of stories. I’d ask, “How do you come up with all those twist endings?”
Hahaha. Love the Shakespeare response! ?
Oh, mine isn’t a writerly question, but I have long been envious (okay, insanely jealous) of the fact that Zane Grey roamed Arizona extensively in the early 1900’s before a hundred million people moved here. I’m dying to hear about the Arizona he saw and experienced. In any case, I do hope I’ll meet him one day so I can thank him for writing such wonderful books, including my favorite of all time.
Ooh, excellent question, BK! I bet his response would be fascinating.
I’d ask Shirley Jackson, “First draft, long hand or typewriter?”
Intriguing question, Priscilla. I love hearing about other writers’ process. ?
Jane Austen. What was it like to be a woman author at that time in history?
I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Excellent question, Kay!
I’d like to ask Yukio Mishima how come he was so screwed up and reflected that so well in his novels.
I haven’t read his work, Jim, but now I’m curious. Thanks!
Okay, I’d ask Edgar Allan Poe, if you had known how important your body of work became to so many of us, would you change or add anything to your collection?
Oscar Wilde. I’d ask him what he was thinking about. I’m sure he could talk for hours and every moment would be entertaining.
Agreed, Brian. It’d be a fascinating conversation, I’m sure.
I would ask Lillian Hellman what she loved best about Dashiell Hammett.
Aww, sweet question, Laura. <3
I would ask Margaret Mitchell if she would have rather written twelve very good novels, or just the one super fantastic novel.