If you could have written any book?

[Alex Sinclair]

If you could have written any book, script, play, t.v series or movie or song what would it be and why? I personally have one t.v series and one novel. The novel would be, Death Note, which is a japanese novel. I think the author was pure genius with his story where you end up wanting the bad guy to win over good, which sort of shows how good he is at writing. The book is super fast paced with twists and turns at the middle of every chapter. It is a brilliant story. The T.V series would be Babylon 5, why? Because it is a clever story and a feel good story. I don't write many feel good stories and I think the story has good messages, great characters and amazing plot. So what would you have written if you could have?

[William BK.]

This is a fantastic question, and one that makes me philosophize every time I'm asked it, as I have a tonne of books I could list depending on the day of the week.

My "cliché" answer would be The Lord of the Rings, but then that's the book that every fantasy writer wishes he'd written.

If I give it some real thought, I'd love to have been the brains behind Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Animal Farm, the latter because it's been my favourite book for many, many years (a simple enough reason). I love Alice for the brilliance of its quirkiness. I love the oddball randomness of everything, and yet I always feel as if things are under control, that the story isn't just spinning away from the reader or author as he wrote it.

I love poetry as well, and I'd love to have The Faerie Queene to my name. While I wouldn't say this is the best poem in English, I would echo my sentiments regarding Alice above, that this is a story filled with the unexpected and random. For some reason, when an author pulls such a thing off, it really appeals to me.

[Dylan English]

Movie script: Really hard to pick just one. Either Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Breakfast Club, both written by John Hughes. Or Say Anything or Almost Famous by Cameron Crowe.

Novel: Peter Farrelly's THE COMEDY WRITER or Carl Hiaasen's SKINNY DIP.

 

[Teresa Morgan]

Sacrilege! I only want to write my own books!

(Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Ain't She Sweet.)

Teresa

[JRTomlin]

In my wildest dreams (and I'm not poet to put it mildly, so it is wild dreams) I would have written A Man's a Man.

[spex.kowalski]

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy.  To me, this is the perfect novel.

[Cheryl Bradshaw, Author]

Lonesome Dove - so clever and well written, both the novel and the movie.  Western's aren't a big trend at the moment, but I might still try my hand one day. 

[StephenLivingston]

I wish I'd written the Lord of the Rings.  I'm not a fantasy writer though.  I think that I don't write fantasy because of the brilliance of Tolkien's work.  I don't believe that I can do it better than he already has. 

[medicalhumor]

I would have written Angela's Ashes and The Green Mile!  And Forrest Gump.
Mike Cyra

[nogdog~6op6ou]

Well, if I were going to be mercenary about it, I'd pick one of the Harry Potter books, which should make me an instant millionaire.

If just for the satisfaction of having written it, I might pick Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, both due to his wonderful word-smithing as well as the story itself and how it incorporates Hindu/Buddhist mysticism so cleverly.

[Alex Sinclair]

The Big Labowski (spelling!) would have been a good to write. I wish I could write a character as good as "The Dude"

[dgaughran]

BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS by Louis de Bernieres.

A masterpiece. I can't even read it anymore, it's too beautiful. Every time I do, my brain turns to gunk and I can't write anything for weeks. Passages in it are so stunning that you will gasp.

[Julia444]

What a fun question, and it makes me laugh, because whenever I read a truly great book, I feel all energized to go out and . . . write that book! 

I read all seven Harry Potter books out loud to my boys, and I kept thinking, wow, I'd love to write something Harry Potter-ish.  Yeah, me and the whole world.  I'm sure editors and agents are still cringing about all the Wizard-related submissions they've gotten over the Harry Potter years.

Now I'm reading THE HELP and having the same reaction--wow, how neat would it be to write this kind of dialogue in this sort of setting with this sort of plotline.

Apparently I'm not at the top of the original thinkers list.   

Julia

[balaspa]

I would give ANYTHING to write an episode of Doctor Who or to write for the Torchwood series.  Back in the day, it would have been Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[jackblaine]

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.  Or The Cage, by Audrey Schulman.  Or Into the Forest, by Jean Hegland.  These authors have a subtlety that I envy.

[Jennifer Talty]

What a great question and I have so many answers...so many good books etc to choose from. There are three books that I read one right after the other that really sparked my interest in reading. Before these books, I didn't read much, after these books, I couldn't stop reading.

The Great Gatsby
1984
To Kill A Mockingbird

I secretly wish I could have written Seinfeld only because I can't write funny. I'm just not funny and when I try, it's not funny, so that is something I wish I could do.

[caseyf6]

"You Know When the Men Are Gone" by Siobhan Fallon.  It's like she peeked into my world and wrote what I only wish I could have written.

[Joseph Robert Lewis]

I would have been extremely proud to have written either The Princess Bride (Goldman) or The Last Unicorn (Beagle).

[Ann Herrick]

I think it would have been a lot of fun to have, like, written the script for "Valley Girl."

[KyahCA]

Well, it would have been awesome if I wrote Harry Potter.

And I would have also loved to write the TV Series Dawson's Creek or Ghost Whisperer. Those shows are full of great writing.

[Alain Gomez]

Dracula

[Skate]

I would have written 'The Alchemist' (the one by Paulo Coelho). It's so simply written, but has so many layers. Yes, I'd love to have written a book like that.

[mikelewis]

It would have to be Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

It is such a perfect novel with wonderful characters.  I would rest happy if I could write anything near that perfect.

Mike

[Alex Sinclair]

Dracula

I have downloaded that from the kindle free top 100. It looks like a great read.

[ajbarnett]

I wish I had written Archangel (Gerald Seymour) - its such a satisfying espionage thriller. I love it.

As far as TV is concerned, I'd love to be involved in Coronation Street (UK ITV) - not that I've ever written a script in my life, but I can dream can't I....