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=AUTH= What Writers Have Influenced You?

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1/18/2010 21:05:22   
Shreder
Member

In my experience, 99% of all people who enjoy writing also enjoy reading. And whether we notice it or not, many times what we read affects what/how we write. So my question today is, who are some of the writers you have read that you think have had the most effect on your own writing? Poetry or prose, doesn't matter.

As I don't write much in the way of prose, I'll talk about poetry. Personally I think the poets who have had the most influence on my style are William Wordsworth and Edgar Allan Poe. Wordsworth because many of my poems include nature, which was a favorite topic of his; and while my poetry may not be as dark as Poe's, he is one of my all time favorite poets, and I feel that something his style might have rubbed off on me. (I wish :P)

So discuss. Who do you think has had a noticeable effect your on your writing?

< Message edited by shreder110 -- 1/20/2010 9:33:29 >
DF MQ  Post #: 1
1/18/2010 23:11:08   
alexmacf
Member

When I started writing poetry, I had *no* poetic reading background. I was influenced by musicians at first. The biggest influences were Avril Laveigne and Taylor Swift, though that's just the ones I can identify. When I started listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, they had a significant impact on my style as well. As I began to read Shakespeare, I went through a sonnet phase and a rhyming couplet phase. He was probably the only poet acknowledged as such that influenced me in my early stages of writing. I began reading poetry for real when I came here. .Discipline, Helixi, and Smalls are among my greatest influences here. Honestly, I owe an awful lot of poetry to them - they truly inspired me.

My prose is influenced by the vast amounts that I read. I generally go for imported books, since in general, they've got to be pretty good to be taken overseas or over-boundary. One of my favourite foreign authors that isn't well-known is a Canadian children's books author named Katherine Patterson. My favourite of her books, though I've never been inclined to do a repeat of it, is "Awake and Dreaming." Among my other inspirations are any Batman writers (except for the guys that wrote in the '80s. Hate the campy, hate it!), Phillip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, and indirectly (he's too drab for me to read for long), J. R. R. Tolkien. My current project is based primarily off of Don Bluth's 1997 animated film "Anastasia" so far as plot is concerned, though I'm not taking anything from his directing style. I also take a lot of my inspiration from news articles. They're short, to the point, and convey lots of precious information. That's how I generally do things, and why I'm never able to get a novel done - a plot summary is what I draw up in my head.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 2
1/18/2010 23:43:08   
Sentharn
Member

Diane Duane influences much of my works; I adore the storytelling she utilizes in Spock's World. Also, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov; traces of both of their writing styles can be found in traces in my own works.
Post #: 3
1/19/2010 1:39:32   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 By and Large, the one author that has had the most influence on my writing is Anne McCaffrey. I have adored her books since I was a teenager and still do. Mercedes Lackey also gets a large thank you from me, as her incorporation of intelligent creatures in her stories also have influenced me. Kate Elliot has also shown me that you can have an extremely complex story, with several plotlines going on at the same time, and still pull off one heck of a book series.

If I could write like these three women, I would consider myself lucky. And just for kicks, I will throw in CJ Cherryh. If anything, just to prove to myself that complicated, detail oriented writing does, in fact, work.

< Message edited by Eukara Vox -- 1/20/2010 8:52:40 >
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 4
1/20/2010 6:56:12   
Reaper Sigma
Member

J.R.R. Tolkien. The way he describes the races and Middle-Earth fascinates me.
Post #: 5
1/24/2010 17:41:50   
horusmaster9
Member

Poe. I try to emulate his work, but I fail miserably at it. But still, he's definitely an influence.
Post #: 6
2/1/2010 5:38:42   
Alixander Fey
Member

Frank Herbert. Isaac Asimov. Brandon Sanderson influenced me a lot in the story I'm writing now, but that was mostly society and culture. Terry Goodkind.
DF  Post #: 7
2/1/2010 23:08:33   
Eric Greydawn
Kensai


 My personal influences are wide and run a surprising gamut between different styles, genres, and forms. The prime influences on my own writing come from Micheal Moorcock, primarily his Eternal Champion saga, which spanned several series and several different times, H. P. Lovecraft is another influence. Sad to say his style is a derivative of several styles he himself cannibalized, such as Lord Dunsany... Stephen King... Terry Pratchett, Douglass Adams, Asimov, Robert L. Aspirin, Piers Anthony, Andre Norton, and more.

It must be admitted, however, that the writer that has had the MOST influence on me, bar none, is Lee Martin, author of the Deb Ralston murder mysteries, published by St. Martins press. Her research into her topic is flawless, and her years of police experience, combined with a PhD in english have combined in a near perfect gestalt. She writes from the viewpoint of a cop who also happens to be a mother, and the way that some of the crimes she deals with seem to spill over into her personal life are always a source of frustration.

@ Eukara... I have ALWAYS loved Anne McCaffrey's work. I have to say however, that when her son took over the writing of the Pern books... that was the end of that series.

< Message edited by Eric Ravenwing -- 2/1/2010 23:09:56 >
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 8
5/4/2010 9:08:09   
superjars
Member

My largest influences in writing are Frank Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Orson Scott Card (especially the Ender Series: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and Children of the Mind), George R. R. Martin, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Stephen R. Donaldson (Thomas Covenant and GAP series'), C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Unfortunately, because of these guys, I think I have a very formal writing style, especially the fantasy authors. I started reading Joe Ambercrombie recently, who has a much more gritty and raw style, and I like what I'm reading. I have to also say that watching anime (in particular Fullmetal Alchemist, Deathnote and Code Geass) have also influenced my writing as well.

If I had to narrow it down to one, I'd say that Frank Herbert and his mix of politics, history, religion and philosophy throughout his books in the rich and vast worlds centered around Arrakis have pushed me to create new worlds and populate them with real people. I will love his books, as well as the works his son and Anderson co-wrote to finish the series as long as I live.

@Eukara, I started reading the Pern series, but I was reading them chronologically rather than publishing-wise, and I got bored after the first couple and never got into the series'. Unfortunately, I was getting burnt out on fantasy at the time, due to have just read through most of the Belgariad and Mallorean, as well as Brooks Shannara series and was becoming bored by reading the same old things over and over :P Maybe I'll give McCaffrey another look-see at some point...
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 9
5/4/2010 9:53:16   
Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!


 @Eric Ravenwing: Todd certainly isn't his mother, but, I don't think she would allow him to continue if she didn't approve of his writing skills or ability to write Pernese lore. I will admit he doesn't have her touch, but I have still enjoyed his books. He is probably the only person on the planet that could carry on her legacy, as the poor boy grew up surrounded by that world. I have toyed with writing a short story set in Pern, and then send it to her as a thank you. But, she probably gets that all the time.

@superjars: You really should give it another chance. I have read the whole series in publishing order and in chronological order. I appreciated the chrono order because there were things that happen in the later books that becomes easier to understand once you get through the history. That is not to say that you cannot enjoy the later books set in Pernese time without reading the beginning of it all. But then again... I will read just about anything written by her.

Also, if anyone is interested, her Crystal Singer trilogy is fantastic. Acorna is too, and the Freedom series. Freedom series was so much fun.

If anything, Anne McCaffrey is the one writer that can make me go through the largest range of emotions while reading. I love it when an author can invoke such responses in me. I only hope that I accomplish that once in a while.
AQ DF MQ AQW Epic  Post #: 10
5/4/2010 19:47:30   
Goldstein
Member

Lot's of authors, really, Derek Landy the most.

Прощай сэр! Желаем удачи!
Farewell Sir! Good luck!


_____________________________


"Allo comrade, why don't you give me a click on the ol' noggin and enjoy a nice little tale of action and sorrow and comedy? Cheerio!"
Post #: 11
5/8/2010 3:26:07   
The Extinguisher
Member

I get inspiration from the weirdest places.

Take one part Chuck Palahnuik, one part Ryan North, and one part punk, stir in a dash of Bill Watterson, and spread over a sheet of cheezy fantasy writers (I love these. They're terrible but great, and they all sound a lot alike). Bake until golden-brown, and serve with a missing side order of punctuation.
Post #: 12
5/9/2010 14:28:58   
.::oDrew
Member

i'm currently reading "white noise" by dan delillo, and i imagine that once i'm finished the next story i write will be replete with his influence. he has a metafictional dystopian theme that i'm enamored with.

in regards to poetry, louise gluck is certainly my strongest influence. i've sought to emulate her syntax, voice, and content in one way or another. read her "first four books of poems," it's a fantastic resource for a beginning poet.
Post #: 13
5/9/2010 16:45:17   
Alexandria Serthes
Member

A lot of fantasy authors have influenced my writing. Not so much the style, which I developed before I started reading things besides homework, but fantasy writing is definitely my comfort zone.

Lately, several authors have been tugging at me with their excellent books.

1) Cornelia Funke
2) Timothy Zahn's STAR WARS books
3) J. K. Rowling
4) Edgar Allen Poe
5) Katherine Kurtz
DF AQW  Post #: 14
5/9/2010 17:52:37   
Xplayer
Roaming the Web


 I try to let no one influence my poetry but myself, but I am influenced by my favorites of the Romantic poets (Byron, Shelley, Keats etc.) although I don't write in their style at all.

My prose is heavily influenced by several authors and mangaka.
1) C.S. Lewis
2) CLAMP
3) Kurt Vonnegut
4) Himoru Arakawa
5) Ian McEwan
6) Key
7) A ton more in tiny ways that cannot be measured. Pretty much any author I've read has some influence.

Edit: formatting errors :(

< Message edited by Xplayer1 -- 5/9/2010 17:53:42 >

_____________________________
AQ AQW  Post #: 15
5/9/2010 18:21:02   
Goldstein
Member

Indeed Xplayer1, any author I've ever read influences my writing, really. Poe and Orwell not so much, but a tiny bit, none the less.

Прощай сэр! Желаем удачи!
Farewell Sir! Good luck!
Post #: 16
5/12/2010 4:42:38   
Xirminator
Member

I'm influenced by everything I read, but my writing style is not very descriptive, so I think my main influences there would be authors like Isaac Asimov.
AQ DF  Post #: 17
6/1/2010 5:29:54   
Mistermafio
Member

Most of my influences in writing actually come from this forum. People who's names this forum (and in some sad cases even I) have long forgotten.

.Silence, Ricobaby, Clyde (who might still be kicking around here), Euky (who I refuse to name by any other name), Senthran, Skooby and Firefly to name a few (and I know there are many more I haven't named). I've gotten a lot of inspiration from their help, support and basic pleasantness. Without them I would not even have started writing poetry.

In terms of actual "famous" authors I can only name Poe as a real inspiration for my poetry.
AQ  Post #: 18
6/29/2010 6:42:43   
mastin2
Member

I can easily say well over 75% of my influence comes from right here--L&L writers. (It'd be rather hard to list them all, but a few names I can easily remember due to them being quite larger influences than the others.)
However, I have had some extensive reading in other areas, years ago, mostly.

I barely got into The Lord of the Rings (I got to Rivendelle and then forgot that I was reading the book), but the extensive expanse of J. R. R. Tolkien's world is somewhat inspiring. Can you create a world so extensive that it's essentially a whole mythology? (Okay, maybe. Can you actually write it all down, though? Alright, maybe. But still, no matter what, it's an impressive feat!)

I had one author above most others influence my mystery genre, but I've long-since forgotten his name. Similar to that genre, I've read some spy books, too. I've also been inspired by a couple of Dragon series. The Inheritence Cycle has quite a number of flaws, but also has some strong points I picked up. The other series (I forget it's formal name, but I always call it "The Fire Within" series--The Fire Within being the name of the first book) also was an influence.
I'm sure there's at least one or two more series I'm forgetting to mention, but an influence to romance (I've done--or am planning to do--pretty much every common genre. Yes, even romance.) would be--of course--Stephanie Meyer. (Naturally, quite some number of flaws in the Twilight Saga, but I'm not going to point them out; that's been done thousands of times. It does have strong points, and they are what influence me.)

Of course, really, a good deal more of what I'm inspired by is anime/manga, television, and movies, but of those, only Manga are read. (And I've only read one manga all the way through.) That Manga, though, was a large influence on how I imagine my characters looking, so it still counts. (If you're curious, It's...umm...how do I say it? Helsing, though I'm leaving out one letter...)
Post #: 19
9/29/2010 22:22:24   
MonsterMike9000
Member

Mark Z. Danielewski
H.P. Lovecraft
D.J. MacHale (Actually got to talk to the guy.)
Douglas Adams
Max Brooks
AQ  Post #: 20
9/29/2010 22:41:26   
alexmacf
Member

I'm starting to become influenced by people I know personally. The brother-sister duo Tanya and Carl are both magnificent writers and Carl's a great speaker, and they've influencing me a lot. Tanya's writing a webcomic called Spirit Bond and collabing on another comic called Shibo, both hosted by smackjeeves.com and Carl does a lot of writing that he loses and it winds up scattered around their house, whereupon I find, read, and give back his works. And the stuff we do for English class of course; we're next to each other on the roster and sit near to each other, and are therefore usually paired up, and whenever we're working on individual assignments, we wind up exchanging our papers for the editing process.

I also find that my influences from the poetry world have become broader. I read Emily Dickenson and Robert Frost on a regular basis, and I often pick up random poetry books and flip through them, and read whatever looks interesting. When I'm bored and have for some reason forgotten to bring a book to Social Studies on a catch-up day, I write haiku strings about writing haiku strings, or sonnets about writing sonnets, or suchlike. My teacher finds it amusing.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 21
11/11/2010 15:01:01   
Turkmeiser
Member

The writer who has influenced me when writing short stories and such is... I forgot her name, but she was the author of the Chronicles of Vladimr Tod series. I was deeply attracted to her style of writing which combined suspense, tragedy, and a dash of comedy to top it off.






(Edit)
I think the author of the series is Heather Brewer... correct me if I'm wrong.



(Edit 2)
I also find myself drawn to the Twilight saga (the books not the movie because, frankly, the movies, I heard, were downright terrible) as the author has blended many genres such as romance and hatred and rivalry between mythological creatures.

< Message edited by Turkmeiser -- 11/11/2010 15:04:23 >
Post #: 22
11/11/2010 16:43:27   
alexmacf
Member

Turk, instead of reading Twilight, why not try out Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter? Laurie K. Hamilton is a really good author, and doesn't make basic spelling errors, and the Anita Blake books deal with all those same themes.
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 23
11/12/2010 15:53:48   
MonsterMike9000
Member

Instead of reading Twilight, how about try reading Dracula?

Vampires are technically undead...Why are so many adolescences so attracted to a lovestory involving one? Get back to basics people!
AQ  Post #: 24
11/22/2010 14:53:23   
kpnut
Member

i've read many books by many authors, but the ones that have influence me (and that i can remember) are Raymond E. Feist and the many background writers for games workshop as well as some minor influence from Tolkein(sp?)
AQ DF MQ AQW  Post #: 25
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