I have consumed a lot of Fantasy and Scifi over the years, but these five have influenced me to a measureable degree. Here’s what I have taken from each of them:
- Frank Herbert – I first read Dune in High School and it wasn’t until I started earning money of my own that I bought the rest of the series – and loved it! Herbert’s world-building is second only to his Galaxy-building, and his big vision for his characters, and his sense of exploration and wonder all inspire me to make stories that likewise ignite my readers’ imaginations.
- Ursula LeGuin – What I love most about LeGuin’s writing is how well she describes various systems of government through the experiences of her characters. Plus, her characters are nearly always people of color. She writes about conquest, colonialism, exile, anarchy, sexuality, and pretty much everything else that most of us would be more comfortable ignoring. And she does it all while crafting amazing characters without the socio-political implications bogging down her stories.
- Isaac Asimov – The great grand-daddy of Speculative Fiction, Asimov’s body of work is expansive and impressive. His characters are often people who are swept up in events and powers far beyond their own control – kind of like us – and he is one of the rare writers who can include truly insurmountable obstacles in his story and still craft a story worth reading. Plus, he used to keep four to six typewriters loaded with stories at once, working on whichever story he felt like writing at the time. Talk about a good strategy for overcoming writer’s block!
- Robert Jordan – I feel a little guilty including Mr. Jordan in this list because while I was a huuuuuge Wheel of Time fanboy in High School and College, I gave up on the series around book 10. Book 10 OUT OF 14! Still, while I was often frustrated with his sedated turtle plots, underwhelming climaxes, and tendency to ramble for several hundred pages, I can’t deny the effect he had on my writing. His use of limited third-person perspective, the way he incorporated culture, and his incredibly detailed history he wrote for his world forever changed the way I approached not just telling a story but deciding which of my characters tells the story for me. Plus, his Fantasy was clearly original and distinct from the Tolkein clones in his day through his incorporation of reincarnation, the fact that almost all of the mages were women, and his use of prophecy.
- Kurt Vonnegut – If you’re surprised to find Vonnegut’s name on this list, you probably didn’t pay close enough attention to the late author’s work. His signature achievement, Slaughterhouse Five, is about as speculative fiction as you can get – Plunger-bodied Aliens, the narrative use of time travel, and the annoyingly persistant assertion of a static destiny. And before you think his scifi chops are limited to that work, consider Cat’s Cradle, whose central conceit was an arms race centering around a superweapon capable of turning room temperature water into crystalline ice. While Vonnegut is one of those rare authors whose work transcends genre, he remains one of my favorites to read whenever I need inspiration. He is unapologetic in his beliefs and it comes through strong and fierce in his prose, yet the works themselves are just so enjoyable to read that even people who may disagree with his convictions will probably still finish his books.
Who are your influences? In your chosen field, who convinced you to do what you do? Who inspired (and continues to inspire) you to chase your dreams? Let me know in the comments!