Is there a particular author who influenced you? Whose writing style you aim to emulate? Or whose stories you would most compare yours to?
Now before everyone says "I write in my own style and not anybody else's", I don't mean this question in a duplicative way. All writers must have role models of some sort, people who inspire them in some way to write. Who are they for you? _________________ Violet "Violanthe" Kane
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I no longer strive to write like any particular author. Those who have inspired me include Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Oscar Wilde, Tobias Wolf, H.G. Wells. I know I'll think of more when I've finished my first coffee. _________________ Harker: ...I sometimes write stories.
Coroner: I sometimes read them.
Harker: Thank you.
Coroner: Stories in general--not yours.
-from "The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce
Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 523 Location: Upstate New York
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:25 pm
Short answer - ME!
Long answer (veering down a winding side-road from the initial question)...
This same sort of discussion has cropped up elsewhere, and I'm perplexed by the whole concept of aping another writer's style. Deliberately writing in someone else's style, in someone else's voice, before you develop your own style, your own voice, as suggested by some writers, seems very odd to me.
I was always taught that you should write in your own voice. Yes, it takes time to develop it. Yes, other writers can certainly influence your voice and style. However, aping someone else's voice and style before you can attempt to speak in your own voice seems rather counter-productive.
As it is, my works do display hints of Tolkien, Lovecraft, Poe, Yeats, Dunsany, and others. There's no doubt that I've been influenced by other writers. There's no doubt that certain of my works have a "Tolkienesque" or "Lovecraftian" feel to them, but they are still in my voice, my style.
Having seen several of my poems on-line and in print, next to quite a bit of prose and poetry by others, I know I have my own distinctive voice, my own distinctive style. There are variations of tone and inflection within my body of work, but a Richard H. Fay poem is still clearly a Richard H. Fay poem. And I truly think that's a more worthwhile goal to shoot for than aping the voice and style of others.
Perhaps it is a way to develop your voice and style, but I wouldn't rely too heavily on it. You are better off being your own writer, with your own voice.
Going back more in line with the original question, I've tried to write dark poetry comparable to that of Poe, high fantasy comparable to that of Tolkien, and folkoric pieces comparable to those of Yeats. I've been influenced by the works of Poe, Tolkien, Dunsany, Yeats, and Lovecraft. Their voices and styles have influenced my own, but I've never really tried to emulate another voice and style. _________________ "I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"
Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Posts: 203 Location: Vancouver, Canada
Who do you aim to write like?
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:11 am
Just like all you other authors, I don't aim to write like anybody else, because I think I have a unique and wonderful style that everyone else should be emulating.
However�
My favourite SF/F writer is Anne McCaffrey, specifically the Pern series. (Some of her other series, especially the ones written with another author, are pretty glorpy.) I like her blend of SF and F, and I find writing about magic problematic, so I rarely use it in my fantasies.
I also like the way she creates characters, and the way the main character and the working out of his/her problem becomes a crucial element in the story.
I also think that she has solved the 'bad sequel' problem by having sequels with different main characters.
I also write for the same audience. At least, I think I do.
So, while I wouldn't say I try to write like her, there are elements of her writing which I admire. Especially her success.
Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 523 Location: Upstate New York
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:32 pm
On a different but slightly related topic, I've actually had one or two people try their own hand at composing and submitting speculative poetry after they were inspired by my example. And some of these works have actually been published.
They don't write like me, mind you, but at least one aspiring speculative poet actually asked for my personal opinion of his work. He even said in a public forum that I inspired him to start composing his own scifaiku.
How cool is that? _________________ "I'm going to do what the warriors of old did. I'm going to recite poetry!"
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:54 pm
Richard H. Fay wrote:
This same sort of discussion has cropped up elsewhere, and I'm perplexed by the whole concept of aping another writer's style. Deliberately writing in someone else's style, in someone else's voice, before you develop your own style, your own voice, as suggested by some writers, seems very odd to me.
I was always taught that you should write in your own voice. Yes, it takes time to develop it. Yes, other writers can certainly influence your voice and style. However, aping someone else's voice and style before you can attempt to speak in your own voice seems rather counter-productive.
I find this interesting because I was never taught anything about voice, they emphasised just writing. I was never told to emulate my favorite writer nor was I told to strive for your own voice. I guess my teachers assumed voice would come, get the basics down first.
Anyway, when I started writing, I was heavily influenced by Robert E. Howard and I'd say I strove to write like him. I think it's natural to be influenced early on by your favorite authors, even if its subconsciously.
As years passed and I read more authors, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Andrew J. Offet, John Jakes, Lin Carter, Philip Jose Farmer, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Heinlein, Henry Miller, Dostoyevsky, Jack Karoak, and so on, I probably began to meld all that into my own voice.
The funny thing is, I've often been compared to Nelson DeMille, who I'd never even heard of the first few times people mentioned it.
I would ideally like to write like a more economical GRR Martin. I like his ability to paint the details of his world and to be ruthless in his storytelling, but his novels have gotten to the point now where they're a little out of control in terms of size. _________________ Violet "Violanthe" Kane
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