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For the ask game:
R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?
Hi, Anon. I’ve been thinking about this one for a while and I’m not sure how to answer it. There are writers whose work I love and would love to write like, but calling them an influence feels oddly much like claiming “you can see elements of them in my work!” and… I cannot see myself making that claim. Also, overall I would have said I write in a pretty transparent style but looking at what I actually turn out I’m forced to admit that it is heavily modified by the outlook of the viewpoint character, so from this we learn that (1) I remember a bunch of terms from university! and (2) I am clearly not qualified to assess my own writing if I keep functionally forgetting that I aim for a distinct voice.
So, um, I guess the short answer is no, because I don’t really think about my own writing nearly as much as I probably should let alone consider influences on it, but I figured I could ramble for a bit about writers I admire?
Ursula K. Le Guin; aside from the incredible and unflinching scope of her worldbuilding, her writing is so beautifully assembled. Reading unclearly written work makes it harder to think straight, and she is a perfect antidote for that. Sentences build on sentences and the stories come gracefully to a point and alight on it long enough to draw your attention before moving smoothly on. She’s like the perfect combination of a Douglas Adams turn of phrase[1] and a Terry Pratchett contemplation on how people act.
Dennis Lehane, whose Mystic River is the most patient and reasonable unfolding of the rise of a crime lord that I’ve ever read. I disagree with one of the basic premises motivating a character, and I don’t care; the unfolding is spectacular. His short stories are also beautiful little works - I read “Running Out of Dog” over a decade ago and still remember most of it.
Can I count David and Maria Lapham? They do comics. You know what, I’m going to count the Laphams. I learn so much by reading their work and noticing what they leave out, and David’s account of Maria’s focus on character is a fascinating reminder of how important it is to go back to the… to the starting true point. (Also, Joey’s horrible day leaves me utterly assured that no matter what I do to my characters, it can’t be that bad. Which is a nice sort of safety net.)
(…none of these are really fluffy things? I mean, Le Guin does some deeply beautiful and caring things, but the others are pretty dark. I have nothing against fluff, I like fluff, but I also know my mind doesn’t run that way.)
A lot of Stephen King. I didn’t start reading him early - I think I was eleven or twelve - but I binged him very hard. When I think about it, I don’t write like him - I think I write a lot more like Richard Bachman[2] - but I think he has to be an influence just by sheer quantity.
I’ve never read a Mira Grant book or novella that doesn’t make me cry.
Sarah Monette (I think currently writing as Katherine Addison) is someone I would love to be able I was sure I was writing like. I have bought three copies of her Kyle Murchison Booth collection The Bone Key as gifts to give away to friends, I managed to convince the LOML to try it because they were linked short stories (and was lucky enough too hear some of his analysis of it), and it’s just… it’s a perfect modern take on M.R. James, on that particular style of quietly horrible and yet weirdly peaceful ghost story.
=====
[1] “It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.” “What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?” “You ask a glass of water.” Dammit. That– that’s just– dammit.
[2] Bachman’s style - in Misery, Thinner, Rage, etc. - is a lot more closely tied to the perceptions of the viewpoint character, and a lot less prone to more detached observation. You also see more of that in King’s short stories.
For the ask game:
R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?
Hi, Anon. I’ve been thinking about this one for a while and I’m not sure how to answer it. There are writers whose work I love and would love to write like, but calling them an influence feels oddly much like claiming “you can see elements of them in my work!” and… I cannot see myself making that claim. Also, overall I would have said I write in a pretty transparent style but looking at what I actually turn out I’m forced to admit that it is heavily modified by the outlook of the viewpoint character, so from this we learn that (1) I remember a bunch of terms from university! and (2) I am clearly not qualified to assess my own writing if I keep functionally forgetting that I aim for a distinct voice.
So, um, I guess the short answer is no, because I don’t really think about my own writing nearly as much as I probably should let alone consider influences on it, but I figured I could ramble for a bit about writers I admire?
Ursula K. Le Guin; aside from the incredible and unflinching scope of her worldbuilding, her writing is so beautifully assembled. Reading unclearly written work makes it harder to think straight, and she is a perfect antidote for that. Sentences build on sentences and the stories come gracefully to a point and alight on it long enough to draw your attention before moving smoothly on. She’s like the perfect combination of a Douglas Adams turn of phrase[1] and a Terry Pratchett contemplation on how people act.
Dennis Lehane, whose Mystic River is the most patient and reasonable unfolding of the rise of a crime lord that I’ve ever read. I disagree with one of the basic premises motivating a character, and I don’t care; the unfolding is spectacular. His short stories are also beautiful little works - I read “Running Out of Dog” over a decade ago and still remember most of it.
Can I count David and Maria Lapham? They do comics. You know what, I’m going to count the Laphams. I learn so much by reading their work and noticing what they leave out, and David’s account of Maria’s focus on character is a fascinating reminder of how important it is to go back to the… to the starting true point. (Also, Joey’s horrible day leaves me utterly assured that no matter what I do to my characters, it can’t be that bad. Which is a nice sort of safety net.)
(…none of these are really fluffy things? I mean, Le Guin does some deeply beautiful and caring things, but the others are pretty dark. I have nothing against fluff, I like fluff, but I also know my mind doesn’t run that way.)
A lot of Stephen King. I didn’t start reading him early - I think I was eleven or twelve - but I binged him very hard. When I think about it, I don’t write like him - I think I write a lot more like Richard Bachman[2] - but I think he has to be an influence just by sheer quantity.
I’ve never read a Mira Grant book or novella that doesn’t make me cry.
Sarah Monette (I think currently writing as Katherine Addison) is someone I would love to be able I was sure I was writing like. I have bought three copies of her Kyle Murchison Booth collection The Bone Key as gifts to give away to friends, I managed to convince the LOML to try it because they were linked short stories (and was lucky enough too hear some of his analysis of it), and it’s just… it’s a perfect modern take on M.R. James, on that particular style of quietly horrible and yet weirdly peaceful ghost story.
=====
[1] “It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.” “What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?” “You ask a glass of water.” Dammit. That– that’s just– dammit.
[2] Bachman’s style - in Misery, Thinner, Rage, etc. - is a lot more closely tied to the perceptions of the viewpoint character, and a lot less prone to more detached observation. You also see more of that in King’s short stories.
