Who has influenced your writing the most?

[LaRascasse]

As authors, we all show traces of trying to imitate our favourite authors (not necessarily erotic). Even subconsciously, we try to tailor our writing to that.

Who would you count among your influences and why?

For me, it's a combination of Gerald Durrell and Roald Dahl.

I loved Dahl's adult-oriented short stories for the unexpected, sometimes macabre, sting in the tail. O Henry and Jeffrey Archer also use this plot device in their stories, but Dahl makes it more shocking. It jolts you at the end and makes you reread the last page thinking "WTF! Did that really happen?" That would definitely count as one influence, given the number of times I've used that artifice,

As for Gerald Durrell, I try to copy his minimalism. In his stories, less is said, more is implied. I also like the way he brings out humour in everyday situations by clever word use, understating or exaggeration. Another thing I try to incorporate in my writing, albeit somewhat unsuccessfully still.

Feel free to add yours.

 

[gentledemands]

I love the fiction of Jack Whyte but most of my inspiration comes from non-fiction. Being aware of what's going on in the world gives you perspective. My greatest influences? Bruce Cockburn, Niel Young and others like them.

 

[MSTarot]

My fourth grade reading teacher, ,MR. Robert Shilato. he took a young boy in learning disability class and found him a book he would enjoy. The western 'Shane' Then he helped guide me to the works of "J.R.R. Tolkien.

That master of other worlds gave me a love of reading that has spanned thousands of book.

Without the love of reading that the two of them gave me, I would never have wanted to try and give that back by writing.

 

[TE999]

Regarding writing in general, I grew up during the golden age of Sci-Fi when giants walked the earth like Asimov, Heinlein, Sturgeon, Tenn, Russell, Williamson and a host of others. I read them avidly and still remember a lot of their stories. As for the erotica angle, some of the authors here inspired me to write in that vein and even though they no longer appear on the boards, most of their stories remain in the archives.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

e.e.cummings

Poetry forces you to use words precisely, and to boil the blabber down to the essentials.

 

[TxRad]

Me.

 

[lovecraft68]

Life influenced my writing.

As a teen I lost myself in reading and writing to get away from reality.

 

[_Lynn_]

No clue.

 

[lovecraft68]

No clue.

That's a good honest answer.

 

[LaRascasse]

I've always preferred short stories to lengthy drawn out novels. Packed a punch in limited pages.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Life influenced my writing.

As a teen I lost myself in reading and writing to get away from reality.

Give us a holler when you find you're way back.

Honestly... I'd say Stephen King definitely (I tend to ramble and add a lot of detail), William Faulkner (Not all of his work, but As I Lay Dying and The Unvanquished, for their minimalist approach), and Alex Garland (not really sure why The Beach was so influential, but now that I've mentioned it, I may have to go back and read it a third time).

Q_C

 

[lovecraft68]

Give us a holler when you find you're way back.

Who says I want to come back?

Its scary out there

 

[sr71plt]

Laurence Durrell and Graham Greene.

 

[Bramblethorn]

As authors, we all show traces of trying to imitate our favourite authors (not necessarily erotic). Even subconsciously, we try to tailor our writing to that.

Who would you count among your influences and why?

I scarfed up SF/F in huge quantities as a kid (Clarke and Tolkien especially) but I'm not sure how much of that shows up in my current writing.

More recently: I'm very fond of Maugham for the way he handles human nature - he has a great empathy with human frailty, and while his stories are often sad, they never leave me with that "I hate the human race" feeling.

My partner/editor says she can tell from my writing style when I've been reading a lot of Charles Stross.

 

[nicecthulhu]

I have no idea if it shows up in my writing or not.
Theodore Sturgeon, probably first and foremost. Then Heinlein, E.R. Burroughs, E.E. Doc Smith, Spider Robinson, Robert Sawyer, Terry Pratchett, Cordwainer Smith, Robert E. Howard, etc., etc.
I can't think of any mainstream authors who've struck me as memorable.

 

[SamScribble]

For a long time now I have had a leaning towards writers who write clearly and concisely. I'm one of those people who reads one word at a time – and so I like each word to count, I like each word to matter. And I like each sentence to be carefully crafted.

Among the writers who write (or have written) in this way, I’d rate Saul Bellow, Peter Carey, David Cornwell (aka John le Carré), EL Doctorow, JP Donleavy, Robert Drewe, Laurence Durrell, Joseph Epstein, Graham Greene, Harold Pinter, Philip Roth, Dylan Thomas, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr (to name but a few). And I'm sure there must be a few others who I have missed.

 

[sr71plt]

I almost added John le Carré to my list as well.

 

[trysail]

Mencken.

His erudition and inimitable writing style have been formative influences. I am not the first; there are thousands. William Manchester's biography of Mencken, Disturber Of The Peace, shows an unmistakeable attempt at imitating Mencken's prose. In later years, Manchester acknowledged as much and admitted embarassment at the awkward effort.

No one ever wrote in such singular style and no one ever will.

 

[ishtat]

Mencken.

His erudition and inimitable writing style have been formative influences. I am not the first; there are thousands. William Manchester's biography of Mencken, Disturber Of The Peace, shows an unmistakeable attempt at imitating Mencken's prose. In later years, Manchester acknowledged as much and admitted embarassment at the awkward effort.

No one ever wrote in such singular style and no one ever will.

It begs the question Trysail. How (in the sense of 'to what effect') did he influence you?