Robin Raven's Would You Rather

Robin Raven's

Would You Rather

Would you rather start every sentence in your book with ‘And’ or end every sentence with ‘but’?

Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m going to go with the “And” scenario. I’m cringing, though, let me tell you.

Would you rather write in an isolated cabin that was infested with spiders or in a noisy coffee shop with bad musak?

Oh my, anything but spiders! I’ll take the noisy coffee shop. Bring on the musak. I’ll even sing along. It’s noisy in there anyway, right?

Would you rather think in a language you could understand but write in one you couldn’t read, or think in a language you couldn’t understand but write in one you could read?

I had to think hard about that one, but I will go with think in a language that I could understand even if it meant writing in one I couldn’t read. I’d hope that others could read my work, and I’d hope I could read others’ writing.

Would you rather write the best book of your career and never publish it or publish a bunch of books that leave you feeling unsatisfied?

Well, not to cheat out of a real answer, but I’d choose to publish a bunch of books that left me unsatisfied as long as they were actually good. I can be insecure, so I could imagine that, even if I wrote a masterpiece, I may not be fully satisfied.

Would you rather have everything you think automatically appear on your Twitter feed or have a voice in your head narrate your every move?

I’ll go with the voice in my head narrating my every move. I’m pretty patient, and I’d hope that wouldn’t get on my nerves too badly. Maybe it would feel like I was in the middle of a movie. Perhaps a boring movie, but, ya know. What can you do?

Would you rather your books be bound and covered with human skin or made out of tissue paper?

I would choose the tissue paper for sure!

Would you rather read naked in front of a packed room or have no one show up to your reading?

I’ll choose the latter. I hope and pray that never happens, though! That’s one of those things every writer fears, I think. Ask me this again after I’ve been lifting weights for a few months. I’m just getting started with that.

Would you rather your book incite the world’s largest riot or be used as tinder in everyone’s fireplace?

I’m going to go with the riot as long as it’s non-violent and for a great cause.

Would you rather give up your computer or pens and paper?

Although I wrote exclusively with paper, pens, and pencils for a long time, I’d go with giving up pens and paper. I rely on my computer so much now as a writer.

Would you rather have every word of your favorite novel tattooed on your skin or always playing as an audio in the background for the rest of your life?

I will go with having each word tattooed on my skin. I don’t have any tattoos at the moment, so that would be a first experience.

Would you rather meet your favorite author and have them turn out to be a total jerkwad or hate a book written by an author you are really close to?

I’ll go with the second scenario. I’ve been very lucky to meet some of my heroes, and luckily none have turned out to be jerkwads.

Would you rather your book have an awesome title with a really ugly cover or an awesome cover with a really bad title?

I’ll go with having an awesome cover with a bad title. Contrary to what they’re advised, people do have a way of judging a book by its cover.

Would you rather write beautiful prose with no point or write the perfect story badly?

I’d choose to have the perfect story that’s badly written.

Would you rather write only embarrassingly truthful essays or write nothing at all?

I pretty much have written embarrassingly truthful essays, so I will go with that one. I am pretty open and honest. I also embarrass myself on a regular basis, so I have lots of potential material.

Would you rather your book become an instant best seller that burns out quickly and is forgotten forever or be met with mediocre criticism but continue to sell well after you’re gone?

I’d go with a book that continues to sell well after I’m gone. I’d love to write a book that resonates with people beyond my lifetime. One of the biggest thrills that I’ve experienced from the publication of my first novel is hearing from people who were touched by it. So I would love it if people would continue to read it and get something out of it.

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Robin Raven is the human who once belonged to the greatest dog that ever lived. "Next Stop: Nina" is Robin's debut novel. She has several other works of fiction that she hopes to share in the near future. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Robin grew up in a nearby town called Saraland, and her hometown is a lovely place that still inspires her. As an adult, Ms. Raven has mostly lived in Los Angeles and New York City, so she also considers those cities to be home.

Robin blogs at RobinRaven.com and often has her nose in a book. If she's not reading or writing, you can probably find Robin daydreaming about adopting a rescue donkey. Delicious vegan food rocks her world. So does effective altruism. In addition to being an author, Robin has worked as a professional actress. She loves to connect with fellow writers and readers, so feel free to say hi to her on social media.