Nathan Bransford - The Forums

This question is an oldie but goodie. What author would you have dinner with, and what would you ask them?

For fiction, I'd pick J.K. Rowling. I'd ask her about her plotting technique - amazing - and writing under pressure.

For non-fiction, I'd love to have dinner with Oprah. I don't think she's written a book (yet) but I'd love to ask her how she did it - how she reached so many people.

How about anyone else? Anyone you'd like to spend time with?

Cormac McCarthy. He's so much more about writing than promoting, wrote THE ROAD in only three weeks, went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for it, acted like the writing was much more important than the prize, does things in his own way and is successful through methods that run completely contrary to popular belief. I'd love to talk with him at length and ask questions about how he views writing and life in general.

Living or dead?

If I could bring an author back from the great beyond, I'd love to have dinner with William Faulkner. Or just, you know, a couple of rounds of bourbon. I don't think I'd have anything specific to ask him -- I'd just bask in the glow of his linguistic perfection.

For those among the land of the living, I'd want to hang out with Junot Diaz for an evening. I met him briefly at a talk / signing (my dear mother, 64 years old and wearing a business suit, told him with all seriousness that she was his homegirl), but I'd love to sit down and pick his brain about his process for writing OSCAR WAO and the fairly legendary case of writer's block that accompanied it. I think he and I tend to fall into the Rewrite Death Spiral fairly often with our WIPs, except that he, obviously, found a way out of his.

Donna Tartt. We'd hit it off famously, no question. I'd probably ask her if we could do it again. Outside of that, I might ask her about her penchant for creating parallel families in her stories, as I do the same. There are tons of character development inquiries I would make.

No doubt. James Joyce. I'd love to ask what would was to come after Finnegan's Wake.

J.D. Salinger.

If I thought he'd answer me, I'd ask if the rumours about the books in the safe-deposit box were true.

Does Thomas Jefferson count? Writing was obviously amongst his many, many talents. Very few people can give me chills when I read their work, but he manages to do that frequently. Though I think if I were sitting down to dinner with him, I'd be too nervous to say anything and would spill my drink all over my lap.

Patrick Rothfuss - one of the best new writers I have picked up in the last year. His debut book hooked me in a very big way.

Actually one of the reasons I pushed myself to write my own novel. So I would really want to discuss his techniques in world building and how he managed to reveal back story at just the perfect pace.

I would like to hold dinner for eight, so here are seven authors I would select:

Michael Crichton
Benjamin Franklin
J.K. Rowling
William Goldman
Charles Dickens
Aristotle
Doris Kerns Goodwin

Awesome dinners. I would have never thought of Thomas Jefferson, but I'd love to meet him.

Marla, please set me a plate, too. A banquet - brilliant. :)

I would love to have dinner with Neil Gaiman. That would be a fun and inspiring night out.

Mira wrote:Awesome dinners. I would have never thought of Thomas Jefferson, but I'd love to meet him.

Marla, please set me a plate, too. A banquet - brilliant. :)

Well as I would like the table to even out to ten, I'll have to invite Thomas Jefferson along with you.

Now who do I call for the catering? :-)

That's difficult. I'd have to choose between J.K. Rowling, Megan Whalen Turner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Patricia C. Wrede. But maybe I would just hold a dinner for five and spend the entire time being terribly intimidated and internally squeeing at so much brilliance all in one place.

Sandy Shin wrote: ...But maybe I would just hold a dinner for five and spend the entire time being terribly intimidated and internally squeeing at so much brilliance all in one place.

Haha! I was thinking the same thing about dining with Neil Gaiman. I would probably spend most of the evening either self consciously staring into my soup or talking his ear off with nervous inanities. But a guest list of 5 is a good idea...mixing up the conversation and easing the pressure.

So if I could invite 5 then it might be Neil Gaiman, Julian May, Caroline W Casey, Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben.

Sandy Shin wrote:That's difficult. I'd have to choose between J.K. Rowling, Megan Whalen Turner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Patricia C. Wrede. But maybe I would just hold a dinner for five and spend the entire time being terribly intimidated and internally squeeing at so much brilliance all in one place.

Patricia C. Wrede! I love the Enchanted Forest Chronicles! I read the series again every other year.