Authors who wrote books in a single weekend
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Authors Who Wrote Books in a Single Weekend — Daily trivia Wednesday, March 4, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01What pushed Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol in just six weeks?
- AMoney troubles and a holiday deadline
- BA wager with his publisher
- CA vivid dream he wanted to capture
- DRivalry with William Thackeray
Show answer
Money troubles and a holiday deadline
Money troubles and a holiday deadline: Martin Chuzzlewit was selling poorly, his publishers threatened to cut his income, and the book came out on 19 December and sold out by Christmas Eve.
Q 02Which novella did Robert Louis Stevenson draft in three feverish days while bedridden?
- AThe Master of Ballantrae
- BKidnapped
- CThe Black Arrow
- DStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Show answer
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was drafted in about three days while Stevenson was bedridden; legend says he burned that draft after his wife's criticism and rewrote it in three to six days.
Q 03Stephen King wrote 'The Running Man' in roughly one week and published it under what pseudonym?
- AJohn Swithen
- BRichard Bachman
- CSteve Brown
- DPeter Straub
Show answer
Richard Bachman
King wrote 'The Running Man' in about a week in 1973 and published it in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. He used this pen name for several early works to test whether his success was due to talent or name recognition.
Q 04Belgian author Georges Simenon is best known for creating which fictional detective?
- AHercule Poirot
- BJudge Dee
- CCommissaire Adamsberg
- DInspector Maigret
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Inspector Maigret
Simenon wrote 75 novels featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jules Maigret between 1931 and 1973. One of the most prolific authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 novels and sold over 500 million copies.
Q 05The Night Circus and Water for Elephants were both first drafted during which challenge?
- AInktober
- BNaNoWriMo
- CMovember
- DVeganuary
Show answer
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, asked writers for a 50,000-word draft each November until the nonprofit closed in 2025; Erin Morgenstern wrote The Night Circus across three of them.
Q 06H. Rider Haggard wrote King Solomon's Mines after betting his brother he could match which Stevenson novel's success?
- AKidnapped
- BThe Black Arrow
- CTreasure Island
- DThe Master of Ballantrae
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Treasure Island
Haggard bet his brother he could write a thriller as successful as Treasure Island; he claimed King Solomon's Mines took six weeks, though his notebooks suggest sixteen.
Q 07Faulkner wrote 'As I Lay Dying' in six weeks while on the night shift at what type of facility?
- AA power house
- BA cotton mill
- CA railroad depot
- DA printing works
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A power house
He wrote it at a power house: after eight hours shovelling coal on a twelve-hour night shift, he wrote from midnight to 4 a.m. and claimed he never changed a word.
Q 08What was the primary reason Dostoyevsky had to write 'The Gambler' in just 26 days?
- AHe was fleeing the country
- BHe had made a bet with Turgenev
- CA missed deadline would hand his rights to his publisher
- DHis publisher threatened to burn his manuscripts
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A missed deadline would hand his rights to his publisher
A missed deadline would hand his rights to his publisher: miss 1 November 1866, and Stellovsky could publish his works for nine years without paying him.
Q 09Who was the young stenographer to whom Dostoyevsky dictated 'The Gambler' in 26 days, and later married?
- AMaria Dmitrievna
- BAnna Snitkina
- CPolina Suslova
- DSofya Kovalevskaya
Show answer
Anna Snitkina
Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina was a 20-year-old stenography graduate who helped Dostoyevsky dictate 'The Gambler' in 26 days to meet a publishing deadline. They married just months later in February 1867.
Q 10Kazuo Ishiguro wrote 'The Remains of the Day' in about four weeks using a method he called what?
- AThe Crash
- BThe Marathon
- CThe Sprint
- DThe Deep Dive
Show answer
The Crash
Ishiguro and his wife Lorna created a schedule they called 'the Crash' — four weeks of writing from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with no social contact. The novel went on to win the Booker Prize in 1989.
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