Which author inspires you?

[LJCC]

Anyways, are you guys also a seance when you write, embodying the spirits of authors as you write your stories? A moment ago, I was writing about socks...and was literally uninspired from the get-go. So maybe I needed to read a book to get inspired again.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2024 by LJCC

[Ron]

Inspired, influenced, taken over by a sock, etc. ... Whatever you want to name it is a thing. I wrote my last anthology story Max Cauler while channeling a bit of Julie Czerneda and her style from her book "A Turn of Light" the first entry in the Night's Edge series. There was a definite quickness to the writing, in moving the story forward she made plentiful use of the em dash (stylistically?) when another form of punctuation would have served — but not served as well. The em dash used the way she used it made you pay attention, but it also compelled you to move along, that next bit would be just as important to the story — you needed to read it. That's what I hoped to accomplish as well when I wrote my anthology story.

[LJCC]

6 hours ago, Ron said:

Inspired, influenced, taken over by a sock, etc. ... Whatever you want to name it is a thing. I wrote my last anthology story Max Cauler while channeling a bit of and her style from her book "A Turn of Light" the first entry in the Night's Edge series. There was a definite quickness to the writing, in moving the story forward she made plentiful use of the em dash (stylistically?) when another form of punctuation would have served — but not served as well. The em dash used the way she used it made you pay attention, but it also compelled you to move along, that next bit would be just as important to the story — you needed to read it. That's what I hoped to accomplish as well when I wrote my anthology story.

I am curious to read her book, a Turn of Light now.

Her writing is fairly great:

"Given the little meadow where the girl sat was home to nothing larger than butterflies, single-minded bees, and the occasional indiscreet mouse, it would seem unlikely she expected an answer. But this wasn’t any meadow; this was hers. Too close to the old trees. Too close to the Bone Hills. Too close to sunset’s first, deepest shadows. Night’s Edge, the settlers called it and no one else came here."

I tried embodying the Spirit of Sylvia Plath in the story I'm writing now, but I wrote too dramatically with too many adjectives. Anything more then I might be extending a telenovela plot. I did this after reading The Bell Jar. Haha.

Quote

Demiov? The slaughtered oligarch? Blood pooled in rivers across the marble floors of his penthouse, Mafia whispers, trailing behind the gruesome scene like smoke in a stale room. Danvers stood there, mind struggling, the old SAS gears grinding, sputtering to life. He hadn’t the faintest clue what the dead woman was spewing, but something crawled beneath her words—something vital, half-hidden in the shadows. His fingers loosened around the pistol, lowering it. Greg Danvers, without a glance back, twisted the doorknob and slipped out. The hallway beyond was full of eyes, colleagues gathered like ghosts, drawn by the echo of raised voices, the aftermath of violence hanging heavy in the air.

Maybe I should read spy thriller novels again if I aim to write one. Not biographical confessional writing. Great for dramas, but I don't think it's an excellent inspiration for action-paced writing. Haha.

[Krista]

I've never been inspired by authors, unless you count songwriters, as I like to listen to music whilst I write. I like to create playlists to fit the theme of the story I am working on. I find that it helps keep me inspired, if a lyrical line sticks with me, I can write chapters with a similar theme. Anyway, with the story I'm working on now, I've fell in love with one artist. If the story was ever adapted to the screen, I'd have to beg him to give me rights to use his music in the soundtrack.  

I have been very tempted to write a story based in the time period and style of a local author from Kentucky: Harriette Simpson Arnowe, but her stories are from a time period I've always been interested in, but I find her style interesting as well. She didn't shy away from taboo depictions (taboo depictions of a book published when she was publishing them, mind you), and her writing was raw, difficult to appreciate if you were put off by - I don't want to say "hill people" or Appalachian culture and language. Being raised in the region, I've come to appreciate it, but it is such a small region of the world it doesn't have widespread appeal. Either way, I'd have to research and put more effort into the time period than I want to in my writing at the moment. 

As bad as this sounds as well:  I get more inspired by reading something I don't like more so than something I do. If I pick up a terribly written story or book, I get frustrated and start writing. I do this fully aware that I am not a clean, grammatically correct, structurally sound author myself. That I have plenty of frustrating flaws in my writing...  But, whatever gets the words to paper... lol.