Snowflake Inspiration [day 10]
Challenge #10
Talk About A Creator/Someone Who Inspired You.
I've been in fandoms for many years now and there's been a variety of people who inspired me one way or the other.
Melanie Rawn wrote an absolutely spectacular set of novels in the late 80s, early 90s - the Dragon Prince/Dragon Star trilogies, and then the Exiles trilogy (which is still unfinished). I loved her worldbuilding and her characterisation, the sweeping stories that were so intrinsically caught up in the individual characters and their motivations that they can still catch me up twenty-five years later.
Jacqueline Carey did much the same thing for me in the mid-00s with the Kushiel's Dart trilogy (the Kushiel's Scion trilogy was still good but not as powerful) - sweeping stories, incredible world building, perfect characterisation that drove the story and are still good reads a dozen years later.
For a lighter touch, I adored Aaron Allston's snappy way with characters and interactions in the Star Wars X-Wing 'Wraith Squadron' trilogy. The personalities just flowed off the page so perfectly.
I could talk about Terry Pratchett's ability to describe worlds in a mere paragraph or two, or Jane Austen's drolly sardonic tone, or the tender evocation of Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series, or Loretta Chase's engaging prose and charming characters...
Fannishly, there've been creators who really influenced the way I saw stories and the kind of stories that I wanted to write.
Minisinoo, back in X-Men fandoms of 2000. I loved her complex portrayals of the Ultimate X-Men universe, and her Scott/Jean relationship stories in a time when the push was for Jean/Logan. The emphasis on characters and characterisation and not just 'cool factor' were particularly enjoyable for me.
Meljean of Justice League Unlimited fandom. She had amazing twists and turns of the story, and I loved her Batman/Wonder Woman fics - again, the characterisation worked beautifully for me.
SGC Bearcub in X-Files and Stargate SG1, for writing epic, twisty, psychological stories.
Artaxastra in Stargate Atlantis made me think in new directions for stories, expanding options where I'd been limited.
And then there've been the fans I interact with through the years - people whose stories I've read and been inspired to remix their work. People who've read my stories and responded, and with whom I've had the chance to get to know, befriend, consult, and be inspired by. All the people who've ever responded to a post I made about a movie or a TV show, who exchanged ideas in the comments, or let me know of something that made them think of me and which they thought I'd like.
So many people to talk about - far too many to list! But all of them inspiring - whether prodding me to try to write better, or pushing me to think about something differently, or throwing out an idea that can be elaborated upon at a later point.
Fandom's really good for that.
Talk About A Creator/Someone Who Inspired You.
I've been in fandoms for many years now and there's been a variety of people who inspired me one way or the other.
Melanie Rawn wrote an absolutely spectacular set of novels in the late 80s, early 90s - the Dragon Prince/Dragon Star trilogies, and then the Exiles trilogy (which is still unfinished). I loved her worldbuilding and her characterisation, the sweeping stories that were so intrinsically caught up in the individual characters and their motivations that they can still catch me up twenty-five years later.
Jacqueline Carey did much the same thing for me in the mid-00s with the Kushiel's Dart trilogy (the Kushiel's Scion trilogy was still good but not as powerful) - sweeping stories, incredible world building, perfect characterisation that drove the story and are still good reads a dozen years later.
For a lighter touch, I adored Aaron Allston's snappy way with characters and interactions in the Star Wars X-Wing 'Wraith Squadron' trilogy. The personalities just flowed off the page so perfectly.
I could talk about Terry Pratchett's ability to describe worlds in a mere paragraph or two, or Jane Austen's drolly sardonic tone, or the tender evocation of Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael series, or Loretta Chase's engaging prose and charming characters...
Fannishly, there've been creators who really influenced the way I saw stories and the kind of stories that I wanted to write.
Minisinoo, back in X-Men fandoms of 2000. I loved her complex portrayals of the Ultimate X-Men universe, and her Scott/Jean relationship stories in a time when the push was for Jean/Logan. The emphasis on characters and characterisation and not just 'cool factor' were particularly enjoyable for me.
Meljean of Justice League Unlimited fandom. She had amazing twists and turns of the story, and I loved her Batman/Wonder Woman fics - again, the characterisation worked beautifully for me.
SGC Bearcub in X-Files and Stargate SG1, for writing epic, twisty, psychological stories.
Artaxastra in Stargate Atlantis made me think in new directions for stories, expanding options where I'd been limited.
And then there've been the fans I interact with through the years - people whose stories I've read and been inspired to remix their work. People who've read my stories and responded, and with whom I've had the chance to get to know, befriend, consult, and be inspired by. All the people who've ever responded to a post I made about a movie or a TV show, who exchanged ideas in the comments, or let me know of something that made them think of me and which they thought I'd like.
So many people to talk about - far too many to list! But all of them inspiring - whether prodding me to try to write better, or pushing me to think about something differently, or throwing out an idea that can be elaborated upon at a later point.
Fandom's really good for that.