Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post! I thought it was so interesting that some of you read mostly the genre you write (it helps to keep you in the right mindset, helps to keep you current) and some of you avoid the genre you write (don't want to be influenced by it, don't want it to affect your voice). I think it's great that we're all so different.
So today I thought I'd ask about your writing heroes. I think most of us decided to write because we loved something we read. The author I was obsessed with when I decided to try writing (2 years ago) was Shannon Hale. She writes YA fantasy (and some other stuff too but her fantasy is the best, in my opinion). I read THE GOOSE GIRL and her Newbery Honor winner, THE PRINCESS ACADEMY, and thought they were so much fun. They reminded me of books I'd loved when I was a kid. I wished I could write something so great, so I tried to write YA fantasy--and failed. But at least it got me started.
I'd love to meet Shannon or just see her speak (apparently she's hilarious). Maybe someday.
Did your writing journey begin with a book or an author you loved? Who is your writing hero?
21 comments:
As mentioned earlier today, Marie and Karen are my current heroes, and you're my idol :)
Published writers? LM Montgomery, JK Rowlings, Suzanne Collins... anyone with a book that impacted my life.
The Authors that I will never forget, especially as a youth, R.L Stine, V.C Andrews.
Those are the books I never put down.
I adored "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle when I was younger. I still have the copy that I bought when I was in sixth grade!
This was the first book that I read that made me believe I could be a writer, too.
Now, I love reading Suzanne Collins, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, JK Rowling, Terry Brooks, and James Rollins.
I gave you an award on my blog. Stop by when you have a chance.
I'd have to say that Judy Blume is my writing hero. She did something that no author has ever done. She spanned the gap of time. My daughter has read every book of hers, just as I did when I was a kid. I've also loved reading her adult fiction. To me, that's talent.
It's funny you posted this because I JUST finished Forest Born yesterday. I love Shannon Hale's books as well. She writes so prettily and weaves a fantastic world with very real characters. Yes, she is one of my writing heroes. Also, Suzanne Collins, JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer...the usual.
When I was little it was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I don't know how many times I read Little House in the Big Woods.
Now my favorites are Geraldine Brooks, Margaret George, and Arthur Golden. All three excel at writing strong heroines in historical fiction- my fave!
I remember the first books I read over and over again were the Narnia ones, but the one that first really made an impression on me was William Horwood's Duncton Wood...
Wow. So many books from so many different authors (Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini, Tolkien, Rick Riordan, Stephenie Meyer, C.S. Lewis, Aprilynne Pike, Dan Brown, Nicholas Sparks, Billie Letts, Jhumpa Lahiri, Piers Anthony)- they are all heroes to me.
Oooh Natty, just had to jump in on this one...Katherine Paterson hands down, for sparking that interest in characters:
Bridge to Terabithia...
The Great Gilly Hopkins...
Jacob have I loved.....
I rest my case. :) Lovin' all the comments on here- what fun!
I love many of the authors mentioned but as a hero/heroine I'd pick Margaret Atwood for courageous art, Ray Bradbury for ground-breaking literary genre writing and Neil Gaiman for wide-ranging, brave storytelling.
For me it was Tolkien -- The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy sparked my imagination into wanting to write fantasy.
In terms of now, my writing hero is Terry Pratchett. I love his Discworld series, even though I could never write satirical fantasy.
Flannery O'Connor. Anne Lamott. C.S. Lewis. Elizabeth Berg. Jodi Picoult. Wally Lamb. To name a few.
~ Wendy
My newest hero is J. Courtney Sullivan because her recently-released debut novel COMMENCEMENT is exactly the kind of book I want to write -- smart, thought-provoking, yet light-hearted and a zippy read.
I always dread the "who's your favorite author" question, but this I can answer!
I've read all the books LM Montgomery ever wrote. I loved the world created in Anne of Green Gables and in Montgomery's other series and stand-alones.
What I've loved even more, though, is reading Montgomery's journals. She kept one from fourteen until her death in her sixties (now edited down to five volumes). I have learned so much about life in the late 1800s: schooling, fashion, social structure, women's roles. I loved seeing her writing journey unfold and continue until, in her late life, her style was no longer in fashion.
She's been a kindred spirit to me (to use Anne words). While much of our life experiences have been similar (teachers, pastor's wives, writers, mothers of two boys) so many have been different.
It has been satisfying to know this author I adored as a child as a real person. I know these are books I will revisit often.
I have so many. Norma Johnston, Judy Blume, JK Rowling. etc.
Actually, my writing journey began with a debilitating fear. By writing my first story, I managed to turn that fear into something awesome! Personal, but awesome, just the same!
I don't really have a writing hero, maybe Jane Austen?
Great post! I grew up reading several of the mentioned authors, but my writing journey was encouraged by my favorite local authors, Sharon Sala and Merline Lovelace.
I have so many! A lot of them have already been named, so I'll name a couple that haven't:
Terry Brooks, Agatha Christie, and Anne McCaffrey. Also Mercedes Lackey. I guess that's more than a couple, haha.
I have too many but Austen is on the top of the list...
Oh, man. I wanted to be Nora Roberts so much. Then I read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book and new humor was more my style. Oh, and I think Meg Cabot is just too funny for words. :)
Vikram Seth. I've read his mammoth book, A Suitable Boy, several times but I love his slender novel in verse, The Golden Gate, just as much. And the story of his travels in China, From Heaven's Lake, is great narrative nonfiction. What a versatile writer!
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