We all have writers we look up to for their body of work, their fame, the adulation they receive, and maybe even the islands they own.
Whose career would you most like to emulate? Would you go for the fame, riches, awards, or all of the above?
Which writer’s life do you look at and say: I want that.
Melissa Gill says
Kate DiCamillo for me. What a voice. What an imagination. What a string of awards. I saw her speak last year and she said that winning the Newberry meant that Desperaux will always be in print. What a legacy to leave to the worlds children.
Sarah Scotti-Einstein says
This is such a hard question for memoirists, because the writer I most admire (Abigail Thomas) has lead a life that I thank God I have not had to live. Her book Three Dog Life is perfect; but I would not have my husband–or anyone–hurt the way hers was hurt simply to have the material for such an amazing work.
Chassily Wakefield says
JK Rowling tops my list, not for the money or fame (I'm not turning them down!), but for her sheer creative genius and because she has touched the lives of so many people. She gives so much. She's made the world a better place on just about every level.
Nora Roberts is a close second. Her work ethic, professionalism and the way she's grown her career…
Yes, I'd like to emulate them both.
Anonymous says
Jerry Spinelli. Every single one of his books is amazing and speaks to kids. That's what I want.
Cyndy Aleo-Carreira says
What sherrah said.. L'Engle. She wasn't tied to a genre or a market, and her books are still on school reading lists 50 years after they were published. I have my ten-year-old reading her YA stuff now, and I love that she wrote characters who are just as identifiable now to a computer-raised generation as they were back then. It's not Meyer-, Rowling-, or Brown-money I'd want, because you get pigeonholed. I'd much rather be the writer people can bond over.
The Chocoholic says
There are so many to choose from…Christina Rosetti for her amazing sexual innuendo and full descriptions despite her pious outwardness…Rudyard Kipling for his ability to tell worldly stories that entertain children and adults alike…or Markus Zusak for saying he wanted to write everyone's favourite book with The Book Thief, which I only discovered he'd said after it became my favourite book. Yeah, I want to be everyone's favourite author.
Amy says
Madeleine L'Engle, for staying true to her stories even when no one was buying and for balancing writing and family life as a wife and mother so beautifully.
Perle says
Isaac Asimov. Prolific; wrote what he wanted; fiction, fact, etc…
Anonymous says
Thomas Pynchon. I don't want to be a celebrity. I just want people to read my books.
Good answer. We need to get away from this idea that the author is a celebrity or a marketing person. The novel is the product, not the author.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
Lord Byron's ghost just whispered in my ear that the author-as-celebrity is not a new concept, and Hemingway raised a glass in agreement. I don't think we're getting away from it any time soon.
Naya says
I've never really felt the compulsion to emulate someone else's life. I'm perfectly content to live my own. I would love happiness and success in my writing career. Fame I think I would consider a curse and wealth a bonus.
Dawn Hullender says
I would want the world to absorb my work like they did with J. K. Rowling. To know that I've created a world that THE world wants to live in would be fantastic, but I would want to keep the anonyminity of Bentley Little.
I don't think he even owns a computer.
Now that's style.
trebmal says
C.S. Lewis. He was ostracized by his colleagues, he saw little of his fame in his lifetime, he was poor because of his generosity, and he never compromised his convictions–the latter being a virtue only when one's convictions are good, as his was.
Camillia says
Maybe not her life but if I could be as talented as anyone I would definitely choose Tamora Pierce. It seems I still have a long way to go considering I just spelled definitely wrong.
Wendy @ All in a Day's Thought says
Smash Picoult and Elizabeth Berg together and add a dash of Kingsolver and Lamb for good measure.
~ Wendy
wishy the writer says
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Joyce Carol Oates. I'd sure like to be able to work as much and as well as she has. Her output alone is impressive, but then several of her works have received awards like the Pulitzer, the PEN/Faulkner, the National Book Award. And she's published just about every kind of writing there is! Yeah, I'd take her career!
Rebecca L says
Well… most of my favorite writers are unpublished at the moment, but if I had to chose a published writer, whos career I'd like to Emulate, I'd have to say Nancy Holder
She's not as well known as some of the authors that others have posted here, although, she's a wonderful and friendly writer! She's willing to help/talk to people and she posts on Facebook (and maybe other social networking sites too, I'm not sure)
Courtney says
How about Rowling for fame and riches. Zadie Smith for such profoundness in one so young. And Shakespeare for longevity and century-transcending relevance of work.
Dream big, y'all!!!
Anonymous says
Neil Gaiman for reasons others have given.
Though this topic has the ability to make you simultaneously inspired and depressed. I want this. I'm not this…I may never be. I'll try to be. But if I don't make it…I'll be sad.
Ah well, it's just a goal to keep heading towards 🙂
Beth S. says
Agatha Christie
I love her novels, no matter how many times I read them.
Francesca says
Madeleine L'Engle hands down.
My runner up would be Neil Gaiman but I'm AMAZED at how many other people want to be Neil Gaiman. I've known for a while now that I love his books, quite like him but more than anything, want to have his life.
So interesting.
But yes. I would have Madeleine L'Engle's life except that I would be, you know, alive.
Anonymous says
J.K. Rowling. 'Cause it don't get no better for a writer.
Trisha Wooldridge says
I've gotta go with Neil Gaiman, too. He's got such a wonderful personality and his work covers all sorts of media, age, and topic – as does mine. In the few interactions I've had with Gaiman, he has been nothing but genuinely kind, sweet, and supportive to fans and other writers.
Pam says
I don't write the same type material as she wrote, but if I could follow the success of any one writer, it would be Harper Lee. It was only one book, but that single title continues to touch peoples' lives all these years later.
Kaitlyne says
When I first started writing as a teenager years ago, I wanted to be like Dean Koontz. He lives a pretty quiet/private life and gets to write for a living. And I haven't heard any crazy stories about people showing up in his kitchen with "bombs" like I have with Stephen King.
I think I've also always admired that he had a tough childhood but seems to be happy and have a good life now and still has a sense of humor in spite of that. I want to be someone who can take adversity well.
Anonymous says
Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first writer to understand it is both an art and a business and he excelled at both, publishing his own books. And I can't wait for the movie, John Carter of Mars to come out some time in 2012. Been waiting fifty years for it to finally come to the screen…and yes, the Burroughs family will make a bundle.
John says
C.S. Lewis – extraordinary writer – friend of J.R.R. Tolkien – Oxford fellow – successful – at peace with himself for the most part
Anonymous says
It's got to be Nathan Bransford. Live in San Franscisco, blog daily, net legions of followers, work as an agent, AND crank out a novel on the side. I like.
Kasey says
Without a doubt Scott Westerfeld. He writes some of the best YA books ever in my opinion, plus he spends half his year in the US and the other half in Australia (it is my life goal to live in Australia). On top of that, his wife is a writer, and who wouldn't love to have a spouse who writes as well? And its always summer for them (well at least, I don't think it's ever winter…)
sharonedge says
I agree with Kimber An and Kelly–Jane Yolen. For the same reason, I would emulate Eve Bunting or Gary Paulsen or Anna Myers or Dian Curtis Regan. They have a body of work, love what they do, and have a positive impact on kids.
worstwriterever says
Any writer who didn't become "famous" for their work until they were dead.
That way my kids could enjoy any sort of benefit while I could avoid pressure and stress etc of success.
Let's face it….successful writers are not always happy people with a zest for a long life.
Colette says
Patricia Cornwall
or
Tess Gerritsen
or on days when I'm feeling insightful
Jodi Picoult
ryan field says
Anais Nin
LCS249 says
Did you mean to leave out craft?
I have a feeling the ones I emulate never counted on fame, riches or awards:
John le Carré, Cormac McCarthy, Ian McEwan.
Nancy says
Michael Crichton is my pick, noted maybe more for his unusual approach and thought processes than his writing style. Not that the writer's craft isn't important, but if I had half his brain and uncommon view of the world, I'd have all the big houses begging on my doorstep, slurping up any quirky stories I cared to toss out, especially those with a high probability of scientific feasibility. I'd also pick up where he left off on promotion of respect for the scientific method and its assorted legal and moral issues. Crichton's partial credits: fiction, nonfiction (books, essays, speeches), TV, film. 🙂 n
Orange Slushie says
zadie smith
Shelley Sly says
I'd have to say someone like Meg Cabot. Successful and writes fun books (that have even become movies), but not *too* famous.
Annie Reynolds says
OK, lets face it, there would be hardships but I would struggle through them to have some of the wealth of either Rowlings or Meyers, in my dreams I am already there. As for an author I would like to emulate in style I dont think you can go past David Gemmell, he was a story teller of Legend.
Jewel/Pink Ink says
Am I just imagining it, but has one single person not mentioned Stephenie Meyer so far?
I hope to be as big success as her someday. Fame, fortune, my own concerts, my own island, movies, the works. The last thing I want after spending all that time over my manuscripts is obscurity 🙂
Maia Powloski says
As so many others have said, I would choose my idol, Neil Gaiman, for sheer coolness, delightful mythical allusions and allegories, and too many other reasons to name. And he can write well in several mediums–poetry, novels, short stories, novellas, graphic novels. From what little I know about his personal life, it sounds a bit too dramatic for me, though. For everyday life, I think I'd prefer Ursula Le Guin–relaxed, quiet, easygoing, well-known but not rock-star famous as Gaiman can seem sometimes.
Backfence says
To develop a character that people love to read about, like Robert B. Parker's Spencer or Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone would be a dream come true. The alternative would be to make history come alive to the reader as John Jakes does, through great characters and good story-telling.
Amie Boudreau says
I don't know that I can say I emulate one writer in particular.
I simply would like to have a successful career as an author. 🙂
WriteNowNetwork says
Ann Patchett. She writes across genres and lives a quiet little life and seems like a genuinely nice person.
Jess says
I would love to have the career of C. S. Lewis. If I could write with half the imagination he has, I would consider myself lucky indeed. And I also appreciate that he is respected not just as an author, but as a person.
Doreen McGettigan says
Is it crazy that I have read 1000's upon 1000's of books and cannot think of one writers life that I would want to emulate. I want to write and be me..yes the struggling starving author to be..but I have a dream..my own dream..
JustineDell says
I want: Nora Roberts. For two reasons. One, she's uber popular in her genre and it a total genius. (well, that's really two)Two, she likes to keep to herself and doesn't really bask in her glory. That would be me. She's admitted to being almost a hermit or homebody, or whatever you would like to call it.
Valerie L Smith says
I pick J.K. Rowling. Not because of her millions, but because of the reach she has with kids and adults, as well as the respect given to her by writing and reading communities. I also like how she started–a poor nobody with an idea, trying to support her family. The true rags-to-riches story.
Jil says
I'll take Rowling's career, and benefits, so far, added to my own life with the opportunity to continue writing what I want knowing it will be published.
Other Jen says
Dennis Lehane. It's not in my genre but you gotta love the odds of having you work translated by l Scorcese!
And maybe rub elbows with Leo? Bonus!
Maureen says
Children's book author Jane Yolen because she has a long career writing all types of children's literature.