11 Questions I Want You To Answer!

Welcome, new members! I am a relatively new member myself, and I thought I should introduce myself, but initially I want to get to know other members. I found a post on Tumblr where people created eleven questions and sent them onto certain people to answer. I thought I should do the same to you, and hopefully we can get to know each other a little better than we normally would with the basic introductions. I have altered a batch of eleven questions to fit a writer's persona, a healthy mix of artistic and personal questions, blissfully regardless of age, gender, or social status. I hope you enjoy answering them. Don't spare me your creativity!

Here they are:

1. What was the first great book you read?
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

Thank you for joining this forum, and may your time on here be of value and joy!

 

Okay... strange way to introduce yourself but, I'll bite...

1. Harry Potter 1, it was the first novel that I really read, got me into reading.
2. Dunno.
3. Depends on the book. It could happen.
4. I don't even want to go there, my first story was terrible, I hope I'm a lot better now.
5. Nobody.
6. My first novel 'The Stray' sitting at about 81,000 words
7. Romance... can't stand reading or writing it
8. I would finally get around to reading some classics like Shakespeare, etc.
9. Finally finishing my trilogy and getting it published.
10. I can't decide, I have many that I like and I can't seem to think of one at the moment.
11. I want to finish writing my trilogy and have at least the 1st book edited by the end of 6 months, I will probably be looking for publication if book 1 gets to publishable standard before the end of the year.

It's your turn now...

Anyway, there is a New Member Guide for your perusal, It will give you all the rules, guidelines and whatnot of the forums.
Welcome to the forums
Amanda

 

1. The Holy Bible; but never front to cover, skipped the 'begats'.
2. I'd need more than one opportunity to fix past mistakes I'm afraid - there have been too many.
3. Yes. The Bible, the Quran and other works of fiction have had a profound impact on people.
4. I still remember writing my first sentence. 'Here is ----- he is being a good boy'. It was accompanied by a picture which my classmate pointed out looked more like a girl, so I changed the writing to be 'Here is ---- he is being a good girl.'
5. Myself.
6. N/A
7. Romance.
8. None - I've read all the good ones. There are some great comics to catch up on however.
9. Finishing my novel.
10. Luke Rhinehart
11. Just one day at a time for now. When I manage that then I want to get a nice place in the country.

 

welcome and hello!
1. On the Road (as an adult)
2. I would change the human perspective of life....
3. yes, yes indeed. for good and bad.
4. My first true piece of writing was from my journal I had when I was 10 years old. Some deep stuff for that age. Compared to my most recent piece of writing, not much has changed!
5. hmmmm,....well if its Kerouac, then that reminds me of highschool and my friend victoria. If it's Jurassic Park, that reminds me of me as a kid.
6. 30 pages in one day, with a broken ankle....
7. pop-crap-nonesnese!!!
8. I would go to the library, and live out my last days.
9. finishing something grand, publishing, and leaving my mark on this planet, before my last breath.
10. Virginia, a character I created. She is a bad-mamajama!!
11. Writing, writing, and writing. Also, happiness.

 

This should be interesting, let's go:

1. The first great book I read was Une vie by Guy de Maupassant.
2. The college in which I spent a great part of my youth.
3. Sincerely I don't.
4. Nothing interesting. My last one is better
5. Nobody
6. The first novel I wrote.
7. Crime fiction
8. The Amber Spyglass, so that I can at last complete my reading of the His Dark Materials series
9. That my writings are published and read
10. Severus Snape in Harry Potter
11. There's a lot of things I'd like to accomplish but the more important would be, I think, to find a good job.

 

1.) I was introduced to the Bible when I was just learning to read, so probably that.
2.) A very minor thing, but I regret not going up the Eiffel tower - I'd go back in time and make sure I did! Or, you know, go there again sometime in the future.
3.) No doubt - the Bible is the only book which has truly changed lives.
4.) I actually returned to my first piece a few months ago, having originally written the piece roughly six years ago. It wasn't too bad in terms of writing style and structure (I was fourteen!), and my ideas were good, but my ending was awful. It could make for a great short story if done properly, so I may revisit it and edit like crazy.
5.) My family, because I read the book while we were all driving to our holiday in France.
6.) My first ever (terrible) novel, standing very close to 80,000 words.
7.) Yeah, probably romance. I'd give it a shot, but it's the least interesting genre of the lot, in my opinion.
8.) The Bible. I never stop reading it.
9.) Writing my Magnum Opus i.e. definitive piece of work.
10.) James Choke/Adams.
11.) Finish my screenplay.

 

1. Hmm. The first book that got me into reading large novels was 'Magician' by Raymond E Feist, but the first book that I read that I absolutely fell in love with was probably 'Assassin's Apprentice' by Robin Hobb
2. I would probably have George RR Martin start writing ASoIaF earlier.
3. If more than 50% of people at my school constantly talking about Game of Thrones counts, then sure.
4. Well, I've only been writing seriously for a little over a year, but I have definitely improved in that time!
5. 'A Storm of Swords': constantly killing people and breaking hearts, but you love it anyway? Definitely myself.
6. Well, I haven't completed a story yet, but my 'A Brother's Curse' (can be found in Writing Workshop- Novels - Page 2) is up to around 17,000 words.
7. Teen-Cancer (as my literature teacher calls it), unless it subverted into a zombie apocalypse novel. XD
8. I would have to re-read A Song of Ice and Fire, and if I had extra time, re-read The Realm of the Elderlings, and if I somehow had more time, re-read The Dark Tower.
9. Finishing a book!
10. FitzChivalry Farseer.
11. Get close to finishing my current project, or maybe even finish it, and continue my no-fight streak with my girlfriend (our anniversary was this month, and we are yet to have a fight), and ace all my subjects.

 

1. What was the first great book you read?
Great book? I don't honestly remember. I read so much as a kid that I used to steal my mom's romance novels, lol. I read everything I could get my hands on.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
Nothing. I've been through a lot, but it's made me who I am and I'm not unhappy with who I am now.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
Of course. If it even causes one person to think about something from a new perspective - the world has changed. It's a domino effect.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
Terrible I'm sure. Though I honestly don't remember it.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
Good question. I think it represents the darker sides of me.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
120k
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Science Fiction
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
If I only had a month to live I would hope very much that I LIVED it, as much as I love books it's not how I would spend my time.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
The next book - always. It's a perpetual thing, lol
10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
I don't know.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Current WIP.

 

Interesting way to get to know one another. We'll answer as best we can.

1.)Rabbit, Skunk, and the Scary Rock is the very first book we remember getting truly excited about.

2.)This is a hard one. We would choose to change something besides the mistakes in our own lives, and perhaps alter history for the better. Perhaps killing Hitler before he came to power would do. . . .

3.)The Bible changed the world, so yes.

4.)We're afraid we don't remember exactly the first piece of writing we did, but we do recall we used to make small comic books. We write in prose now, and our characters are more fleshed out and three-dimensional, and there's actually a plot.

5.)Our favourite books often remind us of ourselves.

6.)We don't recall how long the book is, but it's a middle grade science fiction novel.

7.)Literary fiction or romance. Ugh.

8.)Considering how slowly we read, this would unfortunately be a short list indeed. Probably something by CJ Cherryh, as well as re-reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. If we had time, we might throw in A Game of Thrones.

9.)Writing more books; also seeing our books on the shelves of our favourite bookshop. Definitely looking forward to making a living at writing.

10.)Ah, too many favourites to list! Peter and Edmund Pevensie spring to mind, but there are so many more. . . .

11.)Finishing six good novels.

http://leeandjjmacfadden.wix.com/rare-worlds

 

1. What was the first great book you read? Hmm well when I was little every book was the greatest book I ever read. A few of the stand outs were Harry Potter, Sebastian Lives in a Hat (a picture book I was given by a teacher when I was four) there were more of course but they escape my notice right now.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't want to be that one person who messes up history and the future trying to fix the world. Regarding my own life I'm finally in a good place right now and I wouldn't change anything (no matter how embarrassing) and risk my happiness.
3. Do you believe a book could change the world? Yes but I don't think books need to change the world or should aim to do so. The best books challenge us but they don't need to completely change our way of thinking.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. The first thing I ever wrote in my own time was either a story about the life of a lion cub (including her adventures with an earth quack (quake)) or a 'book' entitled "Fiedship (Friendship) Farm" about the adventures of two girls who were shameless ripoffs of me and my best friend of the time. I still have them but the ramblings of a little girl don't compare to my current work. For me the best part of both of these pieces was the way in which I started by painstakingly drawing a picture on each page but every few pages the pictures got sparser and sparser as I shifted my focus entirely onto the writing. For me it was in writing these pieces at 6 or 7 that I discovered my love of writing and for that reason alone they were the single most important pieces I ever worked on.
The first project I would consider serious is actually the idea that sparked the WIP I recently set aside. It was overly ambitious and not very realistic (two areas I have vastly improved in) with flat characters and a flatter world.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? My favorite books remind me of bits and pieces of everything and everyone all at once. They're new and exciting but familiar at the same time.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? I don't have anything I would consider complete. There is always more editing to be done.
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? Whatever I feel like writing at the time, it changes daily. Sometimes I would like to be able to write realistic fiction but I know it would never hold my attention in the same way fantasy does.
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? If I only had a moth to live I wouldn't be reading. I would write like a mad thing and try to make the most of the time I had left by actually living.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? Writing. I know it's very simple and boring but it is the whole reason I write. Besides from that I would love to listen to the kind of conversation I love to have about my favorite books about something I have written.
10. Who is your favourite fictional character? It changes daily. There are so many characters I love or love to hate or find intriguing that I can't begin to list them.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? Writing related my first instinct is to say my WIP but I've been saying that every few months for years and am taking a break from it. I want to be focused on a project the way I used to be on my old WIP. I want to have more depth in the way I approach my writing rather than blindly focusing on a single idea. Life related I want to be as happy as I am now in six months time.

 

@Lee_and_JJ that might be the first time daemon has ever seen the royal "we" used non-ironically by anyone alive today. It reminds him of when he used to insist on referring to himself in the third person.

1. The first time I thought "this is a great novel" was when I read Lord of the Flies. That or Frankenstein. I read them around the same time, and that is when I first started to realize the potential of novels as a form of both art and powerful entertainment. A year or two later, though, I read Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was my longest-running favorite novel so far (though currently usurped by a newer novel).
2. I have no idea what I would change in the past.
3. Many books have changed the world.
4. My first piece of writing was a mashup between Super Mario World, The Hobbit, and Star Wars that I wrote when I was 10 so my friends and I could play pretend based on it. My WIP is something that I am passionate about and I think can become a good literary novel in the hands of a good author (which is hopefully me).
5. My favorite book does not remind me of anyone and I would be surprised if it did, given its extremely unique nature. But it does speak to my deepest fear and source of self-doubt.
6. My first work is still in progress.
7. I would least like to write a trashy romance novel. I would suck (hur hur) at writing one.
8. If I only had a month left to live, then I might pick up where I left off in Les Misérables.
9. I look forward to giving people the feels. I got the feels from my favorite book and the only reason I write is to return the favor to society.
10. My favorite fictional character is Walter White. Easy choice.
11. In the next sixth months, I want to get all my college assignments done on time for once.

 

Hi Rainbowt, Welcome to the group!

1. What was the first great book you read? - Barbapapa - seriously I loved it - I started making comic books. But if you want great great - I'd say the Bible ( but it's more than a book to me ) so for fiction I'll pick Jane Eyre - read it when I was about 14.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? - Nothing - that would take away someone's free choice, everyone has to be compelled to make a good choice. You can't make it for them.
3. Do you believe a book could change the world? - Yes - the Bible. And for fiction definitely - Uncle Tom's Cabin.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. - very script(y) awful dialogue, Now it's more descriptive, more stylized - way better dialogue.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? - The off spring of Salvador Dali and Anne Tyler ( the book is Miss MacIntosh my Darling )
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? - my first book's first draft - 2,178 pages
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? - I seem to flub up romance although I love to read it.
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? - The Bible, and some good joke books - might as well die laughing.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? - for someone to enjoy what I create
10. Who is your favourite fictional character? - Lolita ( sassy survivor )
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? - to get some fans and some sales from the self published stories I'm posting on Smashwords and Amazon.

 

Hi Rainbowt, welcome to the forum

1. What was the first great book you read?
Dr Doolitle.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
I'd do whatever it takes to prevent misogyny and patriarchy from taking over. (Writer takes over here) I'd use my time machine to travel back in pivotal times in history and assassinate various gangs of men, such as those who murdered Hypatia, and then those who burned down Alexandria library, then those who started the Crusades, then the Inquisitors, slave traders, (I'd be pretty busy...). So those a£&#%les would be too afraid of mistreating whole groups of people based on gender, skin colour or any other irrelevant yet obvious quality (and waging nasty wars for profit) because of the lone ghost avenger, no, scrap that, I'd put together the army of righteous warriors and we'd fight for freedom and peace of the whole humanity.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
Yup. The Bible, Koran and Torah did a pretty good job of changing the world. As did '50 Shades of Grey', 'Harry Potter' and 'Mein Kampf" (among others). Not always for the better.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
Some themes are similar, the skill has vastly improved, and I now write in a different language as well.

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
I don't really know.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
220k worth of non-fiction essays. Fiction-wise, 60k novella is the longest so far.

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Horror.

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
As many as I can, no one in particular.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Finishing this novel and starting on the next. Also, going with my dog to book signings (something I promised him and now we have a deal).

10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
I can't say there's just one, Sherlock Holmes, Edmond Dantes, Jane Eyre, Milady Winter and many more.

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Finish current manuscript.

 

1. What was the first great book you read?

One of Hemingway's. I don't remember which I read first.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?

Kill Hitler, I suppose, but then I've been reading a lot about the Holocaust lately.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?

No.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.

A Christmas poem I wrote for my family. It wasn't bad for a nine-year-old. No comparison to anything I've done lately.

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?

I don't have a favorite book.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?

A six-thousand word short story.

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?

Sorcerers and unicorns-type fantasy.

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?

I don't think I'd be reading in that circumstance.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?

Being published and being paid for my efforts.

10. Who is your favourite fictional character?

Maybe Travis McGee (or Quint in Jaws).

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

See question #9.

 

1. What was the first great book you read?
Call of the Wild/White Fang. I didn't quite make it all the way through Watership Down first.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
ummm... save Nikola Tesla's life.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
yes, absolutely. clear example: the Bible.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
I don't remember; I've been writing all my life. the earliest specific piece of writing I can remember was a high school English assignment to write "a 1-3 page story with dialogue." I wrote a 14-page short story about a female dragon rider rescuing a male apprentice mage. I don't have the story on hand, so I can't compare it specifically, really.

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
I've re-read Watership Down at least once a year since I was 12. it has a lot of associations with a lot of people, but mostly me, my passage through time and the changes in my life.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
NNWM, 50,000 words.

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
modern military action/thriller. BLEAH.

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
I'd re-read Watership Down, and as many of my favorite Discworld books as I could manage, for the humor, optimism, and comfort.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
getting something published somewhere someday.

10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
Vlad Taltos.

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
either getting something published, or completing a NNWM; hopefully both, but I'd be good with either.

 

1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
2. Maybe I'd prevent the JFK assassination. Or maybe prevent Constantine the Great from converting to Christianity. Or maybe prevent Saul of Tarsus from becoming the Apostle Paul. Stuff like that.
3. Sure. The Bible has. The Koran, too. Plato and Aristotle. Confucius. Sir Isaac Newton's Principia. Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Many more, I'm sure.
4. My first piece was a little handwritten story about me and my friends exploring a distant planet. I wrote it in second grade. My last piece, completed a few months ago, was a science-fiction novelette about characters resembling me and my friends exploring a distant planet. So, other than length and using Scrivener instead of a pencil, I haven't made any progress at all.
5. Nobody.
6. The first draft of my main novel is 78,000 words.
7. Romance. Or horror. Or romantic horror. Or whatever genre that children's book Everyone Poops falls into.
8. Probably books on how to cure whatever is going to kill me in a month. Or maybe The Divine Comedy. Or maybe I'd just reread my own stuff. I like it.
9. Finishing my books to my own satisfaction. I'll probably never be completely happy with them, so it won't happen.
10. Too many to list. Rudyard Kipling' Mowgli, maybe. Or maybe the happily unstoppable narrator of Joseph Conrad's "Youth."
11. Finish a couple of novellas I'm working on.

 

1. What was the first great book you read?
So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins & Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell both created such imagery for me as a child that they are what made me first want to be a writer. I haven't read either in probably 20 years so their greatness may not stand up to my eye now but they sure did back then.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
The Holocaust
3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
Absolutely, unfortunately for the worst as well as the better.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
Silly, fun, representative of my age to better, evolving, more serious.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
Honestly, myself.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
A little over 74k.
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Space Opera
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
Pride & Prejudice and The Odyssey (I'm sure I'd be more preoccupied with other last minute things besides reading, though)
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Finishing my writings to a publishable standard.
10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
Hmmm...Elizabeth Bennett. No, Jo March. Wait. Princess Cimorene. Ugh, I don't know!
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Be further along into my memoir.

 

1. What was the first great book you read? Harry Potter 1 when I was 5 I think.


2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? Franz Ferdinands Death

3. Do you believe a book could change the world? Yes

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. Utter trash

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? Maybe Narcissistic but myself

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? A 6000 word Major last year

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? Western

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? A Life To short: Tragedy of Robert Enke, Man and Superman, As I Lay Dying, Go Tell it On the Mountain, House of the Dead, and then as much of In search of lost time as possible.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? That moment where it all clicks and comes onto the page

10. Who is your favourite fictional character? Lelouch vi Britannia, or Johan Liebert probably Johan

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? Survival

 

1. What was the first great book you read?
I'd have to say 'Call of the Wild' which I read 7 years ago.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
A tough question that I don't have an answer to.
3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
If done correctly, then yes.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
Oh, it was horrible. My current one is so much better. But, they do have about ten years of experience between them.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
No one, really.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
I finished a first draft for a story I'm scrapping. It was about 10,000 words.
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Any non-fiction. I have so much more freedom in a fictional world.
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
Well, there's none I'd like to read now.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Seeing my book well received.
10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
I have so many. I can't pick one.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Finishing my first draft of the book I'm on.

 

1. What was the first great book you read? I remember enjoying Harry Potter and Stephen King when I was younger, so probably one of those books.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? There are way too many important historical events, so I would instead convince myself to try harder academically in high school.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world? Yes, and they already have.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. My first writing was not very good, but I have improved considerably in basically every facet and hope to continue improving.

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? I have no idea.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? A 6,000 word short story.

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? Erotic Romance

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? Books that can tell me the best places to visit and things to do if you only have one month left to live.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? Having my work published, if I decide to try this route.

10. Who is your favourite fictional character? Andrew Ryan.

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? Find a solid job before I graduate in the spring. If I want to be unrealistic, find a job that involves creative writing before I graduate in the spring.

 

@rainbowt, props for a fun thread!

On with the show:
1. What was the first great book you read?
Lord of the Flies by William Golding when I was 9-10 or so. It was the first book I read, period. I told my mom I wanted to try reading a book and that was the one she recommended, so I borrowed it from the library and fell in love with literature.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
Oh, I'd go back in time almost a decade, find this one guy, and, I dunno, make sure he's not in a certain place at a certain time to be able to do a certain thing. It would probably hurt. A lot. And not me either.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
Not by itself.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
It was an adorably innocent but strange/absurd, almost surrealist(ic?) medieval fantasy that never got finished. I always had a love for the bizarre.
The current WIP shares several qualities with it, but the current story is much darker in tone and, of course, much better written. We still have a lot to learn and we consider ourselves beginners, but at least I'm a lot better now than I was back then (even though my current skills are nothing about which to write home... ).

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
The Ronin by William Dale Jennings reminds me of myself because it was such a pivotal book to me, I read it the first time at a pivotal time in my life. I relate to the main characters a lot, both of them. It reminds me not to take myself too seriously and that whatever shit life throws at me, it's just life's way of preparing me for something awesome that may come tomorrow, in a decade, or right before I die, but it's coming.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
Something like 500k or so. @KaTrian (my wife and writing partner) and I tend to write huge tomes. We tried writing a short 90k novel once, but it came out pretty shitty, so we figured "fuck it, we'll just slice the longer ones into tiny bits." We always make sure the first part (roughly 90k) of the behemoth is marketable as an individual novel, though, since agents and publishers seem to hate people who go "hey guys, I got this book series I wrote..."

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Any other than a blend (the amount and possible presence of each spice depends on our mood) of my favorite genres: general fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, urban fantasy, realism, and an extreme version of realism that doesn't have an English term, but it translates roughly into something like "excessive realism," "gritty realism" or some such, i.e. you focus on the uglier side of realism.

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
I'd reread and edit our stories until my last breath.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Writing more. Of course getting rich and famous would be awesome, but even if that never happens, I'll be happy as long as I get to write.

10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
Does it make me an egotistical douche if I name one of my own? Doesn't matter: Lise Armfelt.
Even though I'm a dude, I just relate to her on so many levels, like her naïveté and starry-eyed innocence, her ability to tread through seven kinds of shit and come out with her hope in humankind more or less intact, her desire to help those who need help (even if they don't always appreciate it), her ability to retain her humanity after experiencing/witnessing the worst kind of scum who can barely be called humans, her wish that everyone would be happy and enjoy their lives without harming others, her will to fight for her beliefs, and her capacity to accept the fact that sometimes good people need to commit evil acts to prevent a greater evil etc.
Even though by the end of the story she's scarred and battered (physically and mentally), she's still everything I think a (realistic) hero(ine) should be. Is it weird one of my role models is my own creation? It feels kinda ass-backwards. Or it would if I cared...

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Finish our damn WIP and move on to the next story... fucking... finally!

 

1. What was the first great book you read? Last Exit to Brooklyn.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? The crucifixion of JC. I doubt history would remember him if he just grew old.
3. Do you believe a book could change the world? They do all the time.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. Trash. I've matured. Now it's just rubbish.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? Me. And all my failings.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? 120k
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? YA Fantasy
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? None. There would be much better things to do with my time.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? An end to the current project.
10. Who is your favourite fictional character? Hank Chinaski.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? Find an agent.

 

1. What was the first great book you read?
Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. I was seven years old and for the first time in my young life, I didn't feel alone in the Universe. I recently made Mr. Bach's acquaintance and immediately dismissed the adage, 'don't meet your heroes'.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
I have thought about this quite a bit actually. I am leaning heavily toward 'nothing'.
3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
Keeping in mind questions one and two, the answer must be yes. A book changed my life and everything is affected by everything else moving forward.
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
The first piece was certainly papers for school I'm sure, but writing for an assignment is different than what I've done since. The first piece of writing that I wrote for enjoyment was letters to my wife. She did twenty-four years in prison and it was all we had for a large part of that. Though the letters began as a way to keep in touch, something changed along the way and they became cathartic. Communication is important to me - and writing allows me to edit until what I have to say is transposed perfectly.
My last piece is on the publisher's road at the moment.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
No one - and everyone.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
104K words - although, as book one of a series, perhaps it could be argued that it is either longer than that OR that I haven't completed it. The longest piece which has been published is, I believe, 71K words.
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
Horror.
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
The Dhammapada or Inner Chapters by Chaung Tsu.
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Hearing a young person say, "Your book changed my life." My last book elicited a tackle hug by a fellow who could have been a professional wrestler. Once the pain subsided it was awesome.
10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
Socrates from The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. He was played by Nick Nolte in the movie 'Peaceful Warrior'.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
Not dying. Though prone to joking, that one isn't a joke. I've got a serious illness and it would not surprise anyone if I didn't make it that long. In the interim, making certain that I tell those I love that I love them every day.

 

Still waiting for you to answer these yourself, @rainbowt.

1. What was the first great book you read?
If you give a mouse a cookie... by Felicia Bonde and Laura Numerov. Well, you said first.

2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change?
Nothing. I love this world, and I can't imagine it any other way.

3. Do you believe a book could change the world?
No.

4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece.
It was a mental escape, with each scene consisting of a single, long paragraph. Now I plan vigorously and write to entertain.

5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of?
A piece of myself. The best books have plenty we can relate to.

6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed?
About 12k. It was a horrible, horrible space thriller I submitted for the 2013 sci fi contest: The Dime Shift Girl. Gosh it was just so bad. It had countless run-on sentences and inconsistencies (among other errors). However, it's the longest work I ever accomplished, and I was proud of the recurring elements and three morals it had. I may rewrite it someday.

7. What genre would you least like to write a book in?
It's more of a setting, but the Old West can go straight to hell.

8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live?
My journal. There are so many moments that I just... cherish. I'd die happy, reliving the bad and the good alike.

9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer?
Selling five copies of a self published romance/thriller I'm writing: Ghosts of the Sandwicheer. All of my past novels collapsed due to gaping plot holes, so I planned this one carefully. Goodness, I sound like an addict saying, "It'll be different this time."

10. Who is your favourite fictional character?
Eren Yager from Attack on Titan. He's motivated. He makes mistakes. He takes action. He learns. He makes me root for him. What else could I want?

11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months?
I want to get closer to graduating, and set aside even more baking dollars for my secondary education, which will be something in healthcare. I also want to finish a first draft of my current WIP.

 

Welcome @rainbowt : I'd also like to see your response! I'm new myself, so I'll play (actually, I seem to have just ticked over to 'Member'...)

1. What was the first great book you read? If folklore/mythology compendiums don't count, 'Clever Mr Twink' by Freda Hurt is one of the first chapter books I remember enjoying.
2. If you could go back in time and change any one thing, knowing that it could completely change everything in the future, what would you change? Every decision I'm currently faced with will change my future, and I'm already struggling...
3. Do you believe a book could change the world? Definitely. In addition to the examples many have given already, I'm sure less-known works have subtly influenced the mindsets of many people who've gone on to do important things (and may not have otherwise).
4. What was your first piece of writing like? Now compare it to your last piece. I wrote several terribly illustrated 'sentence plus picture per page' books as a small child. I think there was a story about two dinosaurs who were friends, and one about a giant bat attacking kids in a playground. My last piece was an interview with a character from my WIP. A thrilling vampire bat chase might have nicely broken the monotony of all the dialogue.
5. Whom does your favourite book remind you of? The friend who borrowed my copy about a year ago... Content-wise, lots of different people.
6. What is the longest piece of writing you have completed? Completed: only a few thousand words. My longer works are abandoned or ongoing.
7. What genre would you least like to write a book in? Erotica. It would take too long with only one hand to type.
8. What books would you read if you knew you only had a month left to live? I'd probably enjoy reading the series from my childhood again (Raven Hill mysteries, Willard Price's 'Adventure' series, Animorphs).
9. What’s something you are looking forward to as a writer? Actually starting to write my story! I've been planning for about 2 years now (during downtime from the rest of 'life').
10. Who is your favourite fictional character? At the moment, Enjolras from Les Miserables.
11. What’s something you want to accomplish in the next 6 months? Overcome my sleep difficulties. I suspect this will be difficult, but maybe that attitude is part of the problem.