Here’s the deal.
I figure, I’ll offer my own neck on the interview chopping block here.
You’re free to ask me anything you want. Pop the question (er, not the marriage question, put that ring away), and drop it into the comments below. I’ll pick my favorites and will compile and answer.
Ask me about writing, personal life, this site, my books, pop culture, whatever crosses your terrible minds.
Or, don’t ask me anything, and leave me here sobbing, staring at an empty comments thread.
Your choice.
*lip quivering*
Sean Riley says:
How should Mass Effect 3 have ended?
April 12, 2012 — 12:24 AM
Sparky says:
While I have a host of questions I really feel that if you are to be put on the spot we should begin as you usually do.
This is a blog about writing and storytelling. So, tell us a story. As short or as long as you care to make it. As true or false as you see it.
And on a more personal pop culture note: what is the most entertaining story you have ever come across? Same question for RPGs.
April 12, 2012 — 12:26 AM
The Liz says:
Q. Would you like to edit my WIP? hahaha… No, seriously. Asking you a question is hard because I’m still reading your Blog from front to back and you’ve probably already answered my as yet unasked question.
Did you ever find the best Pancakes recipe?
Or this one, If you could end all mankind in a fantastic way, how would you do it and why?
(I maintain that all writers are, deep down, plotting the apocalypse.)
April 12, 2012 — 12:48 AM
Natalie says:
Is your butch, hard-drinking, foul-mouthing image just a cover for your deep-seated fear of vaginas?
And the beard. What is with the beard?
April 12, 2012 — 12:48 AM
Pallav says:
Hi Chuck,
It’s a scary thing to go from being a salaried person into the freelance world. The uncertainty and chaos can be too much to handle for some.
So, my question is, what was your job before you started writing books? How was the transition from a fixed paycheck to random payments? Was there anything you did you to make the transition easier?
Thanks,
Pallav
April 12, 2012 — 1:40 AM
Joseph D'Agnese says:
I am a freelancer who recently shaved. You are a freelancer who is obviously hirsutely endowed. Grooming tips?
April 12, 2012 — 1:51 AM
John Harmast says:
What’s your favourite swear word?
April 12, 2012 — 2:00 AM
Nicole says:
How’s the little dog doing? What does pet owning mean to you?
April 12, 2012 — 2:22 AM
Danya says:
Heeeeeey.
You’d think, having been a journalist, coming up with questions would have been easier, right? Wrong. So instead, I have questions here, if you’d like to see and answer. It would make my week, if not my month. Also, would you ever get a dinosaur tattoo?
http://www.dan-mae.com/search/label/21%20Questions
April 12, 2012 — 3:04 AM
Stan R. Mitchell says:
Why do talented writers like you and Joe Konrath often use female characters as your protagonists? Is it for the challenge? And do you think it hurts your sales any?
April 12, 2012 — 3:06 AM
terribleminds says:
@Stan:
I can’t answer why Konrath does things, but I can attempt to answer that one for myself. Noted. 🙂
— c.
April 12, 2012 — 6:30 AM
Josh Loomis says:
Of all the various hats you wear/have worn as a freelancer, what’s your favorite one? Most comfortable? Least favorite?
April 12, 2012 — 7:15 AM
Sigil says:
Pants when writing. Optional?
April 12, 2012 — 8:13 AM
Nicole says:
Which came first: Your blog or your books?
April 12, 2012 — 8:24 AM
Amy Tupper says:
Hiya Chuck,
I think a lot about setting. Out of curosity, is there any particular place in real life that shows up repeatedly (or tries to) in your writing? If so, why? Also, what types of setting do you prefer to use? Is there a particular thought process you follow when choosing a setting?
Thanks!
April 12, 2012 — 8:46 AM
Dan says:
You, Martha Stewart, Harry Potter, and Aquaman have been put into a caged death match. Who would you mother want you to take out first, and did she (or any other relative) give you grief over your writing style or subjects? If so, how did you deal with it, and is your mother really qualified to be coaching you on fictional fights to the death?
April 12, 2012 — 8:47 AM
Kelly Hitchcock (@KellyHitchcock) says:
Do it find it harder to be honest about a review of a book that’s particularly bad when you personally receive the review request?
April 12, 2012 — 8:50 AM
Maria Lima says:
What was the first book you read or remember reading?
April 12, 2012 — 9:00 AM
Liam Hayes says:
Militant cultist Gorillas are invading my homestead. What should I do?
April 12, 2012 — 9:15 AM
Dawn Napier says:
What’s the first book or story that you remember reading, thinking, “This is TERRIBLE. If this hack can get successful, then I know I have a shot!”
April 12, 2012 — 9:15 AM
Sarah says:
You are going to be trapped in an underwater domed city for the forseeable future. You are allowed to take five pounds of anything you want with you. What do you bring?
April 12, 2012 — 9:18 AM
Salome says:
I find that people suck at these things and do tend to leave you sobbing, so I thought I’d ask you something.
Is there anything you learned AFTER you already had an agent that would have made that whole process so much easier? (And please don’t be like a guy I once saw get asked if he knew what time it was, who looked at his wrist and said, “Yes.”)
April 12, 2012 — 9:23 AM
Christopher Meyer says:
What’s your favorite Robert A. Heinlein book? 🙂
April 12, 2012 — 9:23 AM
Abby says:
I’ve got two, so you can pick one if it’s the limit, or you can just ignore me, that’s okay, too.
Option 1: What do you do if you get stuck? Do you turn to a different project that you aren’t stuck on, or do you just plow through?
Option 2: How do you know when your WIP is “done” (as in, ready to promote/sell)?
April 12, 2012 — 9:31 AM
Shell says:
Re: male writers with female protagonists – I remember reading an interview with the animator Miyazaki. When asked why his protagonists tended to be young females he said (to paraphrase) that he couldn’t think of anything more different than himself (middle-aged Japanese man).
April 12, 2012 — 9:34 AM
Mick Faherty says:
What kind of Manly Arts and Things a Guy Should Know are you most looking forward to teaching your son?
April 12, 2012 — 9:35 AM
Albert Berg says:
The one question that’s been on my mind a lot lately is this: How can I know I’m not wasting my time with this writing thing? It’s easy for you to be positive about this because you made it, and I’m not diminishing your struggles and past experience, but surely for every writer that’s succeeded there are hundreds that have tried and failed. We all listen to the success stories and think, “Yeah that’s gonna be me someday.” But the pure odds indicate that a great number of us are fooling ourselves.
If I could KNOW that after ten even twenty more years of trying and failing I would finally make it somewhere in the writing world it would be easy to keep on trying. But there are no guarantee’s, no assurances that the time I’ve spent is going to be worth anything in the end. How can I avoid a wasted life?
April 12, 2012 — 9:43 AM
Jim Franklin says:
What were or still are your time-sinks, and how do you kick yourself up the arse enough to avoid them?
Also, without names who or which people have been the least helpful to or maybe even hindered your career?
April 12, 2012 — 9:48 AM
Amy Severson says:
If all expenses were paid, all travel arrangements handled for you, which trip would you rather take:
30 days anywhere you wish to go on Earth
or
10 minutes on the moon.
April 12, 2012 — 9:54 AM
Elizabeth Ditty says:
As someone who writes both fiction and nonfiction for a living, I’m curious about how you balance those two things (essentially, the things for which you’re being paid and the things for which you might get paid some day), and also how you stay organized — programs, methods, idiosyncrasies, whatever. I’ve been doing the spec screenwriting thing for a while now, but I’ve recently begun pulling in funds doing freelance writing (“Wait, you mean people other than newspapers will pay me for those journalism skills I went to school for?”), so I’m constantly on the look-out for tactics I can steal from other writers that might help me get my stuff together.
April 12, 2012 — 9:57 AM
Corinne says:
One day, probably way before you’re ready for it, the Tiny Human who cutes up your blog posts will learn to read. Which books/universes/writers are you most looking forward to sharing with him? Do you think you’ll ever try your hand at fiction for younger readers?
April 12, 2012 — 10:17 AM
LGVazquez says:
Have you ever considered conducting a craft of writing workshop, preferably in the eastern PA area? (I’ll stop by the state store on the way).
April 12, 2012 — 10:34 AM
Megazver says:
Why is Keira Knightley’s bone structure so excellent?
April 12, 2012 — 10:42 AM
Jack Gardner says:
I love this site and its community but this is my first comment. I am a poet as well as a fiction writer, and your advice to check out good poetry made me happy. Are there any particular poets that have inspired you that you think we could learn from? Oh, and in an effort to fit in, here’s a haiku:
An angry walrus
Drunk on cosmopolitans
Stole my weed wacker.
I never said I was a good poet.
April 12, 2012 — 11:20 AM
Squishy says:
What strategy do you use, if any, to write from the perspective of the opposite gender?
April 12, 2012 — 11:27 AM
John the Great says:
Quick! You’ve been bitten by a werewolf. All you have in your pockets are a needle,some string, and a vile of silver nitrate. How many people do you think you could sell car insurance to before you transform?
April 12, 2012 — 11:29 AM
Gina Rinelli says:
Since you live in Pennsyltuckey, are you going to be doing any signings in PA for Blackbirds? Eastern PA would make me happy, just sayin’…
April 12, 2012 — 11:33 AM
Pierre Poulin says:
You often talk about the “writers community”.
Can you give us some pointers as to where we can find that community? Beside this site of course. Any forums we should log to or avoid?
Thanks 🙂
April 12, 2012 — 12:02 PM
Pierre Poulin says:
Me again…
Fan fiction: Let’s say I’m writing a story taking place in the Lord of the ring fantasy world. Once it is done, I would like to make a site where people can download the story for free.
Is there any chance I will get sued to the moon and back again for doing that?
Thanks 🙂
April 12, 2012 — 12:06 PM
Gru'ud says:
What are your thoughts and observations on varying degrees of narrative distance, especially as it relates to third person POV?
Could even be a 25 parter. 😉
April 12, 2012 — 12:34 PM
Nan Allen says:
If you were to meet Ben Franklin, what is one thing you’d ask him?
April 12, 2012 — 12:34 PM
Mike B says:
Do you think superheroes have a place in novel form or should they stick to comic books?
April 12, 2012 — 12:42 PM
Anna Lewis says:
Have you ever experienced any speed bumps in working with a partner, (ie., something goes drastically awry in the middle of the project to make it difficult to finish), and if so, how did you handle it?
What great questions everybody’s asking! 😀
April 12, 2012 — 12:49 PM
Elizabeth Poole says:
It’s such a fun question, I am going to ask you one of your own interview questions: What skills do you bring to the inevitable zombie apocalypse?
Also: How is B-dub? Walking, talking, and driving yet?
April 12, 2012 — 12:57 PM
Kristin Nador says:
My question is: Did you always want to be a writer and what were your inspirations or influences when you were young that encouraged you towards a career as a writer?
Alternate question: If you created a zombie-chef character in one of your books, what would his/her signature dish be? 🙂
April 12, 2012 — 1:04 PM
mattw says:
What do you do when it’s time to recharge your batteries, creative or otherwise?
April 12, 2012 — 1:19 PM
A.R. Williams says:
What methods do you use to improve your writing skill?
April 12, 2012 — 1:24 PM
Stephen Blackmoore says:
Is it true that John Dillinger’s preserved penis is in a jar in the Smithsonian Institute?
What size are my shoes?
What hair products do you use to make your beard appear so full and lifelike?
What’s the capital of North Dakota?
It’s you I see popping up in my kitchen window every night to stare at me in silent judgment over my choice of ketchup, isn’t it? ISN’T IT?!
April 12, 2012 — 1:32 PM
Levi says:
Chuck – if you were to rework or improve the social standard of literature, how would you do it? What I mean by that is, if you could, how would you improve the national (general) / social attitude toward literature? Thanks.
April 12, 2012 — 3:00 PM
Doug Lance says:
Why not do an AMA on reddit? (http://www.reddit.com/r/iama) Great way to promote yourself and answer our questions in an efficient manner at the same time!
April 12, 2012 — 4:30 PM