(no subject)
I gakked this from i_speak_tongue, because I don't have any work left to do for tomorrow, my hip is killing me, and Jax Teller is STRESSING ME THE FUCK OUT. (No spoilers in the comments, please. But feel free to leave me a drink.)
The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets included) who have always influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes, and they don't have to be listed in order of relevance to you. (July note: I added some more of the I-hope-they're-an-influence-on-me type things.)
1. Dorothy Dunnett: This is my gold standard for storytelling. And she makes the reader work for it, too. Every time pdragon76 reads something of mine and says "Hey, your reader doesn't know what the hell you're talking about", I remember how I read Pawn in Frankincense with Wikipedia open, my Dorothy Dunnett companion out and ready, and a stack of post-it notes. AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH PAWN WAS WHICH. (If you think you know, I would love to hear your theory.)
2. Aaron Sorkin: It's impossible to imbibe as much West Wing as I have and not gain some banter by osmosis. I love him. Even when he's sexist and preachy, he's still really good at writing. And he's not always sexist and preachy.
3. Virginia Woolf: Once upon a time, Mrs. Dalloway saved my life.
4. Edna St. Vincent Millay: A ghost in marble of a girl you know / Who would have loved you in a day or two.
5. The Völuspá: not actual an author, well, author unknown, but definitely an influence.
6. Margaret Atwood: I believe my obsession with "Marrying the Hangman" is now public record.
7. Mercedes Lackey: I freaking LOVED her in middle school. When faced with an insurmountable plot problem, I always ask myself what would the lady with the magic white talking horses do?
8. Jack London: True story, my first word was "dog".
9. Deanna Raybourn: I really admire a writer who can make murder and Victorian colonialism/sexism hilarious. I laughed so hard I hurt myself in the first few pages of her latest. I want to be funny like that.
10: Charlaine Harris: Those books are FUN, dammit, and I will not apologize for loving them or adopting their madcap ways (especially in my Trek fic).
The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets included) who have always influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes, and they don't have to be listed in order of relevance to you. (July note: I added some more of the I-hope-they're-an-influence-on-me type things.)
1. Dorothy Dunnett: This is my gold standard for storytelling. And she makes the reader work for it, too. Every time pdragon76 reads something of mine and says "Hey, your reader doesn't know what the hell you're talking about", I remember how I read Pawn in Frankincense with Wikipedia open, my Dorothy Dunnett companion out and ready, and a stack of post-it notes. AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHICH PAWN WAS WHICH. (If you think you know, I would love to hear your theory.)
2. Aaron Sorkin: It's impossible to imbibe as much West Wing as I have and not gain some banter by osmosis. I love him. Even when he's sexist and preachy, he's still really good at writing. And he's not always sexist and preachy.
3. Virginia Woolf: Once upon a time, Mrs. Dalloway saved my life.
4. Edna St. Vincent Millay: A ghost in marble of a girl you know / Who would have loved you in a day or two.
5. The Völuspá: not actual an author, well, author unknown, but definitely an influence.
6. Margaret Atwood: I believe my obsession with "Marrying the Hangman" is now public record.
7. Mercedes Lackey: I freaking LOVED her in middle school. When faced with an insurmountable plot problem, I always ask myself what would the lady with the magic white talking horses do?
8. Jack London: True story, my first word was "dog".
9. Deanna Raybourn: I really admire a writer who can make murder and Victorian colonialism/sexism hilarious. I laughed so hard I hurt myself in the first few pages of her latest. I want to be funny like that.
10: Charlaine Harris: Those books are FUN, dammit, and I will not apologize for loving them or adopting their madcap ways (especially in my Trek fic).