Make Your Wishes Come True - A Christmas Eve Q & A

For many years now, Carl and I have had a Christmas Eve tradition where we do some sort of post together. This year we are back with a new idea that you can check out here and also over at Carl's blog.

Twas the night before Christmas...or to be more accurate, 'Tis the day before Christmas. No doubt most of us are familiar with some version of the story of the jolly old elf who delivers wished for and asked for things round the world on this one special night. It may be just a story, but it is one very timely example of the impact that storytelling has on our lives.

We all love stories, be they told in the pages of books we read, or unveiled as we push buttons on our keyboards or console controls, or shown on screens big and small through film and television. Stories inspire us, excite us, and entertain us.

In the spirit of Christmas and with the idea of stories in mind, let us each dust off our imaginations and reveal a little about the stories that have impacted us with this simple exercise:

You have been given a great gift. Jolly ol' St. Nick has given you a list of questions so that he can make up for all the years you didn't quite get what you wanted. The answers to these questions should come from the stories you love. If, for example, the question was "If you are guaranteed a safe return, which fictional locales would you want to visit on an all-expenses paid vacation?", you might answer "Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice", or "Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, in Robert Heinlein's Farmer in the Sky", or "The World's End inn in Neil Gaiman's Sandman".

Carl and I were asked to lend a hand in the question development department, and here is the final Santa-approved list. Below you will see the entire list of questions for you to cut and paste on your blog, on Facebook, or in the comments section of our blogs. In the spirit of three wishes, from another familiar story, you can give up to three choices for each question. Remember, this is YOUR list to Santa. Make sure to ask for what you want! After the questions you will see my answers to these questions, and a visit to Carl's blog will reveal his.

Questions: 

1. What story-inspired item(s) do you want to be unwrapping on Christmas morning?
2. If you could visit a place, real or imaginary, from your favorite story and suffer no harmful effects, where would you go?
3. Santa promised to bring you the yet-unwritten sequel novel you've long been waiting for. What will these novels be a sequel to?
4. Santa has a direct line into the afterlife and will ask an author to finish an uncompleted novel or write a completely new one. What author and what book are you hoping for?
5. Your favorite film maker has agreed to make a film of your favorite novel or series of novels. What films are we going to be seeing in the coming year?
6. A novel, film, game or television show can only reveal so many details about the events contained therein. If you could spend the day with characters from a story and have them tell you all the details not contained in the story, who would be coming to visit?
7. Just like those popular car commercials, Santa is going to have a vehicle with a bow on it in your driveway come Christmas morning. What will your neighbors see when they look out the window?
8. Admit it, you always hoped that one of the gifts under your tree would be a live animal. What new pet(s) is Santa bringing you this year?
9. Santa has found your dream job. What kind of work will you be doing and where will you be doing it?
10. The elves have figured out Tron technology and can transport you into any film or game you want. Where to?

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My Answers:

1. What story-inspired item(s) do you want to be unwrapping on Christmas morning?
~ hm, you could interpret this question as something that you really can find under your tree, or something that is impossible. Like I would love to get a Lightsaber. Or, wouldn't Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility, or whatever calls it, be fun. Not to mention his magic wand!

2. If you could visit a place, real or imaginary, from your favorite story and suffer no harmful effects, where would you go?
~ The Shire. First place that popped into my head.

3. Santa promised to bring you the yet-unwritten sequel novel you've long been waiting for. What will these novels be a sequel to?
~ If I wasn't forever behind on series, I would say the sequels to the Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson) or The Kingkiller Chronicles (Patrick Rothfuss).

4. Santa has a direct line into the afterlife and will ask an author to finish an uncompleted novel or write a completely new one. What author and what book are you hoping for?
~ My answer would be Madeleine L'Engle. She was working on a novel when she died and I would like her to be able to finish it. I also wish Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett could come back and write something new!

5. Your favorite film maker has agreed to make a film of your favorite novel or series of novels. What films are we going to be seeing in the coming year?
~ I would love a Fables television series.

6. A novel, film, game or television show can only reveal so many details about the events contained therein. If you could spend the day with characters from a story and have them tell you all the details not contained in the story, who would be coming to visit?
~ Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. She didn't get enough time to tell her whole story and I have always really liked her character.

7. Just like those popular car commercials, Santa is going to have a vehicle with a bow on it in your driveway come Christmas morning. What will your neighbors see when they look out the window?
~ A Tardis!

8. Admit it, you always hoped that one of the gifts under your tree would be a live animal. What new pet(s) is Santa bringing you this year?
~ A Fuzzy as seen in Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi. But only to visit. I want to be better than the people in the book.

9. Santa has found your dream job. What kind of work will you be doing and where will you be doing it?
~ Probably off to somewhere magical where I can learn magic. Not necessarily any particular book, I just want to learn magic.

10. The elves have figured out Tron technology and can transport you into any film or game you want. Where to?
~ I would love to be there for the dinner scene in When Harry Met Sally. But, really, I would love to visit fantasy worlds like those in The Lord of the Rings, but I wouldn't necessarily want to involve myself in the events. But, to meet an Elf and learn Elvish. Or, to meet a Hobbit. Things like that would be fun.

Be sure to share your answers and to also visit Carl's Blog to see his!

Merry Christmas Everyone!