My top ten most influential writers

Third year has started so now it’s busy busy busy again! Sitting around doing nothing was starting to get boring so I’m happy. For now. Well, for my first piece of ‘homework’, I was asked to list my favourite authors and find work of my own that has been influenced by my reading. It turned out to be pretty interesting, and I thought it would be a good thing to post on here. Plus I can show it off in class too!
Wow, it just started to piss down with rain. I was about to go out to Tesco. Good thing I didn’t.
Ok, no sidetracking. Here’s my list of the ten writers who have influenced my own writing or the way I think about writing.

10. David Almond (Skellig)
Skellig is one of the most heart warming stories I’ve ever read. It’s very angsty as you read it but then you reach the end and it fills you with warmth inside. Every time I look back on it, I think ‘awhh’.
But that’s not all that’s influenced me. Almond uses a very simplistic writing style. Some have criticised him for it, but he does it very well and it works in his favour. He doesn’t outright say ‘this is what the character is feeling’, he says what they’re doing and lets them tell you that way.
I’ve been told that my style is also simplistic (or was that my tutor’s way of saying I’m stupid?) so I’ve tried to imitate Almond to some degree. I don’t know if it’s worked yet.

9. Christopher Paolini (Inheritance cycle)
I started this round about the time I started on my first high fantasy book. It reminded me of the most important rule of all fantasy writing- That no matter how much crazy crap you have, it’s all about the characters.
Eragon is 15, the same age Paolini was when he started writing this, and the book is more about him growing up that his big adventure. He has to deal with the death of his loved ones when he is still a little immature and is forced to grow up incredibly quickly. In the climax of the first book, you get a sense that he’s fought as hard as he possibly can and I liked him all the more for it.
The relationships are also great to read. I particularly liked the relationship between Brom and Eragon (Oh Brom…why…) This is what makes the story so memorable to me, and as I learnt in yesterday’s lecture, remembering a story is what makes it great.

8. Jonathan Harvey (Beautiful Thing, Beautiful People)
I read the play Beautiful Thing and watched the film version since I am writing a similar story. I can’t tell you how much those, as well as the tv series Beautiful People, have helped. Harvey writes what he knows and deals with those real life issues perfectly. I’ve read some of his other plays too and he can be quite fearless, writing about a man in love with his own brother.
Beautiful People is both very funny and incredibly moving at times. The scene I remember most is when ‘Auntie’ Hayley took the pregnancy test. It’s written perfectly and almost heart breaking.

7. Natsuki Takaya (Fruits Basket)
She has created some of the most emotionally real characters in all of Japanese manga. If I ever need to know how to write good characters, I think of Fruits Basket. The cast is quite big and they all have their own quirks, problems and endearing qualities.
Takaya’s storytelling skills are also great to learn from. Each character’s separate plot is delivered perfectly from beginning to end. The series is quite long and the early volumes drop many hints of what is to come. I’ve just finished the last volume and am reading through it all again to spot all of them.

6. Ian Serrallier (The Silver Sword)
Ian Serrallier is no longer a well known writer. His books still have that outdated Enid Blyton type style but the story itself is still remarkable.
I think it was year 9 when I read this in English lessons and couldn’t wait to read more. I even went into school when I wasn’t well so that I wouldn’t miss anything. This was the first book that really got me interested in writing. The story I wrote based on it was terrible. I mean truly terrible. Even thinking about it is embarrassing. But I had so much fun writing it and then to hear my teacher say ‘You have a real talent for writing.’ No one else has said that to me since, I have to convince myself that I have talent which isn‘t always easy.
Back then, I was really into quest stories and used The Silver Sword as a template for some more stories. Even if I was shamelessly ripping stuff off, I think it was a great place to start.

5. Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain)
Every time I read Brokeback Mountain, I spend at least an hour crying. For a while, I was well and truly obsessed with the characters. I just loved them so much! I’ve made it my goal to write characters that people will love and obsess over as much as I did with these two. So I look at the story and ask myself, what is it about these guys and their love that made me admire them so much? Was it just the attractive male actors in the film? Actually, that’s highly likely…
Not only that, Proulx’s settings are beautiful. You can tell she really loves the places she’s writing about, even if the people in her stories aren’t always complimentary.

4. Tove Jansson (The Moomins)
The Moomins has changed the way I think about children’s literature. That’s right, The Moomins. Part of the reason I obsess over them is because they are from Finland, where my boyfriend is also from. But it’s not just that. Moominvalley is a wonderful place full of wonderful characters. It’s not perfect like the land the Teletubbies live in, but I could live there happily.
I really want to write a place like Moominvalley. I have tried it in a class before but I still need to work on it. It feels like a second Finland. Whenever I’m missing my boyfriend, I just read one of the books and it feels like I’m in Finland again.
The characters are icons in Finland. Even my boyfriend’s grandparents had plates and mugs with Moomin characters on them! They are both charming and likeable but still flawed. The younger characters really feel like real life children.

3. Phillip Pullman (His Dark Materials)
Again, I read Northern Lights around the time I started on my fantasy book. Lyra’s character has really helped me with my own protagonist. She starts out flawed but you watch her grow and you like her more and more.
What I admire most about Pullman is he’s not afraid of controversy. He just writes what he likes and if someone doesn’t like it, that’s their problem. In my fantasy book, which I may as well mention is called Emerald, I also want to write about my views and opinions and His Dark Materials has taught me that it’s more than ok.

2. Russell. T. Davies (Doctor Who)
Months after getting it as a Christmas present, I picked up his book The Writer’s Tale and got hooked on it, putting aside everything else I was writing. Even The Amber Spyglass (sorry Phillip Pullman). I’ve learnt so much from reading it, and only a little of it was how to write scripts. I’ve learnt about the power of drama, that you must be prepared to make sacrifices and reassuring things like all writers are jealous of each other and even professionals put things off. Hearing these sorts of things from a ‘real’ writer makes me feel so much better.

1. Louis Sacher (Holes)
Like The Silver Sword, Holes was another book that got me interested in writing. In fact, I think it was THE book. The reason I’ve placed Sacher higher than Serrallier is that although he got me interested in writing, Sacher’s lessons have stayed with me for far longer.
I read Holes in class in year 10 and same story, I couldn’t stop reading. When the rest of the class were reading along with the teacher as he read it aloud, I said ‘sod it’ and read it at my own pace because I so desperately wanted to know what happens. It did cause some embarrassment when the teacher called me to read or to answer a question.
The plot of Holes is so wonderfully crafted. It just gets more and more interesting as you read on. Like you’re digging yourself into a hole of great literature (ha ha I’m so funny). It was the first book I bought to teach myself how to write, and that’s why I’ve listed it as my most influential book ever.

There are still many many books I want to read so this list could very well change. For instance, I’ve just started writing a comedy series. I was thinking about which comedy writers to list but I left them out. I’m worried that if I start dissecting Monty Python or Little Britain, I will never find anything funny ever again. I don’t want that to happen!
But maybe I’ll post another list in a year or so and see how much it’s changed.