Writing Gordon Lightfoot

Author Q&A

20 Writerly Questions for Dave Bidini


1. How would you summarize your book in one sentence?
Oh, it’s very, very, very, very good. Really. It is.
 
2. What inspired you to write this book?
Well, you gotta eat.
 
3. How long did it take you to write it?
I wrote it in four months. No lie.

4. Where is your favorite place to write?
I’d say Earth. Generally.

5. Did you do much research?
Some, yes. Other stuff, I just made up.

6. If there was one book you wish you had written what would it be?
Have to be Pro Hockey Annual, 1976.
 
7. What’s the best piece of writing advice you have ever received?
“Your line shift at the shoe factory starts at 8 am.”

8. If you could talk to any writer living or dead who would it be, and what would you ask?
Me: What is the secret to good writing?

Hemingway: Shut up and drink.
 
9. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?
Nope, never.

10. Who is the first person to read your manuscript?
My wife.

11. Do you have a guilty pleasure read?
Pro Hockey Annual, 1976.

12. What are you reading right now?
A really annoying questionnaire by anon.

13. What was your favourite childhood book?
The tablecloth.

14. Were you always interested in writing?
Yes.

15. What do you drink or eat while you write?
Pen nibs and eraser rubber.

16. Typewriter, laptop, or pen & paper?
Typelap.

17. What did you do immediately after hearing that you were being published for the very first time?
Telephoned God. But he was out golfing.

18. What was the most surprising fact you uncovered while writing your book?
That Lightfoot and Cathy Smith are still friends.
 
19. If readers learn one thing from your book, what do you wish it to be?
That this kid, Bidini, can really write!

20. What is the best gift someone could give a writer?
Hookers n blow.