Hardest Question to Answer

CaroGirl said:

For me it's: Where do you get your ideas?

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Exactly this. I never know what to say, even though I've had to answer it a bazillion times.

Sometimes I wish I was more of a smart-ass and could pull off a response like, "I got my latest book idea at a two-for-one sale at Kmart." But my comedic timing stinks.

There really isn't a clever way to say "I just make shit up," is there? Cause that's what I do. I just make stuff up.

Soccer Mom said:

There really isn't a clever way to say "I just make shit up," is there? Cause that's what I do. I just make stuff up.

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I pluck them, like grapes, from the Aether of the collective soul.

Say something like that, and people will never ask you again. Ever.

CaroGirl said:

As a writer, what's the hardest question you've been asked?

For me it's: Where do you get your ideas?

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Target. They have great stuff at Target.

The ones at Walmart are discounted knockoffs.

The hardest question for me isn't one I've been asked, but one I ask myself: How do I know if I'm any good?

I haven't checked at Wal-Mart, but I'm sure they have great prices on ideas.

Costco is fantastic too, especially if you need to buy ideas in bulk. They have great quality for the price.

The hardest question I have been asked as a writer?

Why do you see things so differently?

Duh! (Just between us, I'm blessed with a bullshit detector is why).

It's not a question of where they come from, it's a question of getting rid of them somehow

The hardest question I get is: What's wrong with you?

Which leads to the second hardest question: Where do I start?

I always answer it with "I have no clue". A single idea pops in my head & my characters take it from there. Non-writers never get us anyway. Why try to make them understand?

PrincessofPersia said:

The hardest question I get is: What's wrong with you?

Which leads to the second hardest question: Where do I start?

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Soooo love you!

epublishabook said:

It's not a question of where they come from, it's a question of getting rid of them somehow

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That is the problem. They just keep coming and coming and coming...sort of like fire ants.

CaroGirl said:

As a writer, what's the hardest question you've been asked?

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What's the book about?

Now, I can do this in a query or synopsis no problem, but ask me in person and I feel the blood rising to my cheeks.

I think it's, "What do you write?" because I write several different genres, and some need more explaining than others.

"What's your book about?" Definitely the hardest, and I usually don't even answer it, except to give the genre.

Where do you get your ideas is easy. I just tell them I get all my ideas from Pro Writer's Idea Magazine. I explain that once you have two novel sales to large publishers, or twelve short story sales to national magazines, you're eligible to receive a subscription, which, at $400 per year, is dreadfully expensive, but well worth the cost because, each month, it contains more than a hundred ideas, along with a mini-outline of how the story might best be written. The ideas and mini-outlines are all written by bestselling writers, and having a subscription to Pro Writer's Idea Magazine gives any writer a HUGE advantage over new writers.

This, of course, is one reason many new writers have trouble breaking in, but we had to earn our way to a subscription, and so should everyone else.

It's amazing how mad many new writers get up hearing about Pro Writer's Idea Magazine, and their ineligibility.

I don't think I've had any hard questions, but I have had the standard ones that leave me biting my tongue.

"Why don't you try self-publishing?"

Because I'd like to make a living at this. Failing that, I'd like to make enough money to go down the pub.

"When can I read your book?"

Gee, I don't know. Maybe if I ever get published.

"Why do you write horror?"

off.

Bubastes said:

Costco is fantastic too, especially if you need to buy ideas in bulk. They have great quality for the price.

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I hear they're a dime a dozen there.


I get asked, by friends and family, "Are you going to write a book about me?"

Then I wince. Because the answer is "No," which elicits either resentment or suspicion.

CaroGirl said:

As a writer, what's the hardest question you've been asked?

For me it's: Where do you get your ideas?

You? (and don't say it's "what's the hardest question," smartass)

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nobody knows I write, the very close handful that do don't bother to ask. I'm honestly not sure I have had any hard questions from folks who know I write....


as for the ideas thing, "thin air" works for me, and is probably as honest as anything else you might say.

gothicangel said:

What's the book about?

Now, I can do this in a query or synopsis no problem, but ask me in person and I feel the blood rising to my cheeks.

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I have a hard time with that one, too. I can write out the answer, but in person it tends to become "It's, um...fantasy." don'taskanythingelsedon'taskanythingelse

Soccer Mom said:

fire ants.

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Fire ants can take down a cheetah running at full speed in 60 seconds.

gothicangel said:

What's the book about?

Now, I can do this in a query or synopsis no problem, but ask me in person and I feel the blood rising to my cheeks.

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Oh man, I thought I was the only one with this issue. I've been kind of embarrassed about it, because it's seemingly pretty basic, and it might come in handy one day to have a solid elevator pitch.

Last weekend I was asked the question, and I ventured out further in the pitch than I ever have before. I thought I had pulled it off, but then the guy said 'Good for you. Not many people actually write a book.' and he got out his cell phone to text someone. I guess it wasn't as good as I thought. Oh, and then my husband suggested the guy could beta read for me! Grrr.

"So, what do you write, then?"

I'm not ashamed of my genre. I'm sick of the nudge-nudge-wink-wink reactions I always get. I'm especially fond of men who ask "Need any help with research?"

/sarcasm