Writing a book is a serious commitment. It’s something that just about everyone thinks about doing at one time or another, but actually sitting down to devote hundreds of hours to one task takes a big dream and lots of elbow grease.
Whether we came to it early in life or late in life, chances are there was someone along the way who crystallized that feeling of, “Hey, I want to do this” or, better yet, “Hey, I can do this.”
Who is the most influential person (or people) who set you on this path? Was it an author, a mentor, a loved one?
My most influential writing personages have been Roald Dahl, who made me want to be a writer when I was a kid (I subsequently moved onto other dreams), and my wife, whose support was there whenever I battled the Am I Crazies.
How about you?
Aimee says
When I was a little kid writing my little picture "stories" my mom was a great support. But when I started seriously thinking about writing as a career, she kind of thought it was a bad idea. My friends have actually been a good support. My sister loves the idea of me as an author, but whenever she reads my work, she gives the HARSHEST critiques of all.
I don't have any authors in particular that have helped me, but some books have influenced my work. Yann Martel's The Life of Pi and Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness are the biggest ones.
Melody says
A lot of people – and no one. It's interesting that way.
But, honestly, Shannon Hale's blog opened my eyes to the idea that publishing a book was possible. Sort of, "I can do that!"
And last fall, I was at a Dani Johnson conference and someone told her that they wanted to publish a book because "they knew that's what they were supposed to do." And she gave them a *look* that I'll never forget. And I wondered, well, why haven't I? So here I am. Serious now.
Jansen Schmidt says
As with several others already posted – my mom. She used to read to me every night at bedtime even well after I was able to read for myself. We'd read together, out loud and I never wanted her to stop. Then, I became a teen-ager and although we stopped reading together, we always read the same books into our adult lives. When she passed away last year I was going through her things and found some of the books we used to read. Those precious books are now in my library at home. When the big day comes and I get the call that my book will be published, you can bet Mom's name will be boldly printed on the Dedication page. Love you mom. Always.
Lisa Marie Miles says
It was a college writing professor, Judy Shaw. I was a terrible student in high school, and decided to take a writing class when I was 25. It was the only class I ever got an A in. She told me to keep writing. And I have:)
Rachel @ MWF Seeking BFF says
In the broader "what writer made m feel like I could write too" sense, AJ Jacobs. I love his books and they are the kind of books I read and think "I should have written this!"
But in a more practical sense, a young literary agent reached out to me once because she had read some things I wrote, said she thought I had a "fresh and provocative voice" and was interested in seeing if I had any book ideas. She was the first person who made me think, oh, wait, I could actually DO this??? In the end, she passed on my proposal and didn't become my agent, but I feel forever indebted to her for being the first person to plant the idea in my head that I could write a book and wasn't just dreaming. It's one thing when your mom and husband tell you, but another thing when an actual third party shows some faith in you.
patlaff says
I wrote my first novel (the script for a graphic novel) as a way to keep track of the bedtime story I was telling my then 6-year old son. I've written three prose novels in the six years since in hopes that I can one day leverage my success from one of them to get that first one published. My two sons are the most influential people in my writing life.
M.R.J. Le Blanc says
Well my mom first, she used to take me to the library every week when I was young. She was a good sport about coming home with nearly 30 books (I'm not kidding), but it certainly helped to fuel my love for books. A few authors – J.R.R. Tolkien, Guy Gavriel Kay and Anne Bishop to name the ones I can think of – and books I either enjoyed or didn't enjoy. My 6th grade teacher who nurtured my writing and drilled in me the importance of organization. And a singer who I've been listening to for five years. He's always doing all manner of projects that interest him, he doesn't restrict himself to just music. I love his determination and his work ethic – and especially his music. Makes good writing music!
Brittany says
Everyone seems to be saying their teachers or favorite authors, but I'm saying Holly Lisle. I haven't read her books, but I own two of her writing clinics and I'm taking her course, How to Think Sideways. I've also read all the writing articles on her website, and I love her teaching style.
J. R. McLemore says
I definitely have to mention my wife who has supported my dreams of writing and getting published. My literary inspiration, however, comes from Cormac McCarthy, T.C. Boyle, Christopher Moore, and Stephen King…to name a few. 🙂
Magdalena Munro says
My husband! It's a privilege being married to a former English Lit. professor and comes with plenty of perks. The biggest perk is his constant motivation when I feel dejected (as in last week when an agent rejected my manuscript). He has finished a novel himself and that keeps me motivated as well (the competitive baby in me kicks in…If he can do it, so can I!)
I would like to say that authors inspire me to write but the ones I love are so ridiculously fabulous that I would be a fool to think I could ever come within a millionth of their talent.
So…we'll stick with my awesome and rad husband.
Anonymous says
I'm posting this anon for sure.
Books were the old internet.
I got kicked upward from 4th to 9th grade as a kid and my first oral book report; for The Godfather, knocked out the competition through sheer raw nerve. (It was a catholic school) After that all the older girls would dance with me at the dances and that convinced the older boys not to beat me up. It was all good.
I read endlessly to learn about the world around me and why it was the way it was. Stuff like the "Rise and Fall of The Third Reich" at 1200 single spaced pages when I was 10 yrs old. 1968. Books were the old internet. You want to know something; read a book.
So my 4th/9th grade reading teacher who was a bit of a really cool professor style weirdo and book nut.
When the status of being a midget egghead wore off I took up team sports to not get written off as a gonzo brainiac.
Writers:
Eric Fromm, Teilhard de Chardin, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ludlum.
Friends: A person who I hung around with as close friends who stated matter of factly; "I see you as a writer." without prompting during a general discussion of the weirdness of life and survival. Poems and songs became short stories which lead to believing I might be able to inspire my self to the full length form of a novel. Getting published is a whole different subject.
I stole a lot of books as a child.
So the most influential people besides my wacky teacher in my writing life were the old ladies in the department stores that didn't turn me over to the cops while stealing books during various reading binges: gangsters, sex books, best sellers, and dozens of sub-topics.
Nikki Hootman says
My high school English teacher. He recognized my natural talent and stoked the flames I didn't know were there. His unbridled enthusiasm for my work – which, although it was miles above everyone else in my class, was still pretty awful – made me churn out page after page of material. He even used one of my short stories in another one of my classes. He showed me how euphoric writing could be, and after that I was hooked.
lora96 says
L.M. Montgomery made me want to write.
My husband, his best friend, and my best friend keep me going when the I-Sucks hit. They are a more self-flagellating strain of the Am-I-Crazies.
Ulysses says
Unfortunately, the people who had the most influence on my decision to write are no longer part of my life.
The full story, though, is here for the curious.
…and of course my wife puts up with a lot so I can do this.
Julie aka @Writers_Cafe says
It isn't just one person who influenced me in writing.
Writing is in my blood. My mother authored or co-authored several books, including one that is in it's 3rd printing. At 87 years old, she had a book signing recently!!! One brother has worked for a newspaper since college, as Asst. City Editor and Editorial Page Editor. My other brother makes a living copywriting, and my sister writes for her church newsletter.
Personally, writers who have influenced me include Bertrice Small (especially), Diana Gibaldon, Lynn Kurland, Karen Marie Moning, Jean Auel and others.
Two English teachers in High School also deserve mention: Mrs. Loveland (who had us rewrite to modern English lots of old, old stuff) and Mrs. Quay (who had us write, write, write and write some more).
Cheryl says
Maurice Sendak, Charles Schulz and an English teacher in High School.
Maurice Sendak and Charles Schulz because when I was a tiny little kid, I read them all the time. Especially Charles Schulz. My parents bought me the entire collection (at that time, we won't discuss how long ago) in hardback and I wore them out.
My English teacher because he always cultivated creativity and encouraged my efforts. And of course, I had no idea I would look back on him and feel this way. I'm fortunate that I've been able to tell him.
And then there are all the authors I've read and loved. I started reading pretty young so there's a lot…
catehart says
My mom definitely. She was always reading and was a reading teacher. She instilled that love of reading in me. I read so much I wanted to be able to create the same kinds of wonderful stories.
And Shakespeare – the master (or at least I choose to think he was the real deal).
Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary.
Jack Kerouac
And finally Diana Gabaldon, because I read her book and couldn't wait for the next one so I decided I wanted to try and write a huge historical while I waited.
abc says
My parents, who read about 3 books a week each, taught me to be a reader, which I think is super important in becoming a writer.
Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume gave me lots of fun reading material in my early youth. Wilson Rawls' Where the Red Fern Grows was the first book I loved with all my heart and soul and showed me how much telling a good story could matter. Katherine Patterson broke my heart with Bridge to Terabithia and inspired me to want to create truth and beauty and work to represent that terrible/wonderful existence that is life.
Anonymous says
in third grade i used to tell stories i made up on the spot to a girl on the bus. stories about mutants. i loved her reactions.
she moved away that year. i wonder what happened to her.
Anonymous says
a well known novelist who moved to L.A. for the fall, taught a 10 week class at UCLA extension & then left. A case of, 'When the student's ready, the teacher will appear,' those thirty hours changed my life. I wrote a book that's being published next year. She didn't teach me to write so much as — IDK what the hell she did — expose me to the idea of writing in the first person / voice and otherwise give me a spiritual / creative kick in the ass. Or, thread to tighten up the loose ends … what a question!!! I wish I could pinpoint what she did though I do know it was her.
Anonymous says
Ha ha! Me. Though I have had an abundance of encouraging friends, relatives, and a couple of awesome mentors, (for all of whom I am grateful) in the end it is me that puts the proverbial butt in the mythical chair at 5 am to scribble a few pages…Books too many to mention, influences too many to count.
Café Lopez says
I was in 6th grade, running laps, when a janitor told me to never forget that an acorn can become a forest. He died the next year from cancer, but he's been with me ever since.
DMK says
I wrote letters to a woman I passionately desired and she told me I was a good writer. Made me believe I could achieve my goals through writing.
John Jack says
My fifth grade teacher, one room classroom for fifth grade all subjects except religion taught by nuns, sent me to the dunce chair in the front of the class alongside the library table. I'd asked during physical geography class if the continents moved around. It kind of looks on the world map like Africa and South America were connected at one time. Ridiculous, she said.
Try as she might, she couldn't stump me with questions during class or humiliate me. I had excellent academic grades. She frequently complained to my parents about my correcting her wrong answers given to the class. My citizenship grades weren't great.
Cone hat on my head, sitting in the dunce chair, I picked up a book and thumbed through it. It was the first in the Hardy Boys series. I read the entire series that year, most of it from the dunce chair, and all the Nancy Drew books too.
To that fifth grade teacher, I know her name, I have my report cards from kindergarten through college, I owe the greatest influence on my writing life. Curse her, bless her, it's been quite a journey.
wonderer says
My mom, who made sure we were well stocked with good books, and my dad, who told us bedtime stories, got me started.
Chris Baty, who started NaNoWriMo, got me serious about writing again.
My significant other and my writing friends keep me going.
Paula Hrbacek says
I grew up in the middle of Greek Town, on the campus of Wittenburg University in Springfield OH. Our next door neighbor, Imogene Bolls, was a professor of English and poet laureat. I'd show her my poems and short stories, and ask her to grade me just like a college student. She did. She not only taught me about fragments in second grade, but told me I had talent, and encouraged me to keep trying.
Kerry Gans says
While I had mulitple teachers encourage my love of writing, my biggest inspiration was my best friend Donna. We met as freshmen in high school, and one of the things that cemented our friendship was our mutual passion for writing. We collaborated on many novels throughout high school and college and beyond.
Donna was my collaborator, confidant, sounding board, and the person I could always count on to tell me that I really could write well–and to tell me when my writing wasn't my best work. Donna passed away 7 years ago, and I still find myself wanting to talk to her when the going gets rough. She still inspires me, however, and I would not be where I am today had it not been for her unwavering support.
nimarii says
As a kid, I wrote stories and hid them under my mattress. My mom eventually found them, to my extreme embarrassment, and I stopped writing.
I kept reading though, and I read a ton of great books, but the ones that really brought out the writing itch were some Ray Bradbury short stories, Lolita, and a Game of Thrones. Now, almost everything I read influences me, especially this blog.
Kerrin says
I don't think i can pinpoint any one person. I have just always wanted to write. I've always loved Jane Austen, the fact that a woman wrote during a time when it was frowned on them and succeeded! If she could do, then i can to!
D. G. Hudson says
Most Influential in my Writing Life? As a child, the boy who sat in front of me in the sixth grade and read my sci-fi stories.
But now – my husband is #1 – the first to encourage my writing, then Hemingway (just by my reading some of his early writing), and Stephen King's book 'On Writing', where he told the reader about his writing past & how he got there.
Reading journals by Kafka, de Beauvoir, & others gave me a taste for observing and recording details.
It's one of those things I've always done, although there were sporadic gaps.
sex scenes at starbucks, says
My best friend in 4th grade, Sheri Joseph (now an author herself as well) inspired me to start writing stories. And I wrote my first book in 7th grade. Finished it, too, and I still have it… That was plain old teen angst though.
Linnea says
My high school English teacher. His enthusiasm and encouragement made me believe it wasn't a crazy waste of time to isolate myself for hours at a time and write, write, write.
Haste yee back ;-) says
Me and Huck used to read dirty books behind the barn next to the pig keep. Becky stole 'em from Judge Thatcher's library and give 'em to us one at a time. Now, since we only had one book, Huck and me fought over it and it would settle in the pig slops.
Them was the dirtiest books I ever read and we couldn't give 'em back 'cause of the slops – which lead me to this here Author moment! (Huck gave out readin,' said, "too many albeits, heretofores, party of first part versus parties of other parts and such!" Huck'd usually go off frog giggin' claimin' the Judge had torts)!
Haste yee back 😉
Bridget Heos says
My fifth grade English teacher Mrs. Lynn made us keep a journal, and I filled it with drama, drama, drama. And a hint of self-rightousness. I can still hear that fifth grade voice in my head today!
Milo James Fowler says
Growing up, it was my dad who read just about anything I handed to him; and he called it good. But even before that, it was Franklin W. Dixon. After reading maybe twenty books from the Hardy Boys series, I finally came to the conclusion that I could write something better. (Now, if only an agent would agree…)
Munk says
I'm not telling.
swampfox says
Robert E. Howard. A true painter of words.
MaryAnn says
Jane Austen, without a doubt.
If I've read Pride and Prejudice once, I've read it a dozen times.
Ditto for Sense and Sensibility.
Jil says
My grandfather, who knew George Bernard Shaw, always sent me books at Christmas from his own library. Mother said he was cheap but I knew it was special.
Being an only child, books were my friends, but it got so all of them weren't as engrossing as my most loved ones – so I wrote my own.
Cold As Heaven says
I read all the Roald Dahl stuff when I was a kid too … and now I'm trying to write a book myself of course, like everybody else >:)
Cold As Heaven
Nancy says
My mom…who read to us endlessly when we were kids and was always convinced that I would be a great writer–she never doubted for a moment that I would be published. When I finally do get published, I know she'll be up there in heaven dancing a jig and singing, "I knew it! I knew it!"
Kara Allred says
stephanie meyer. huge inspiration. i heard about her on an oprah show almost five years ago….how she wrote this book in order to pay off her minivan.(twilight-which by the way took a few months of convincing from my SIL and the book itself sitting on my nightstand for a long time before i finally caved in to read it) and to think it came from a dream she had. and we both live in the arizona valley!
wow.
i too am a young mother, hoping to one day pay for a minivan. seriously- i want a minivan. On my top 30 people to meet, stephanie meyer is number one. i think i might have to wear a giant depends because i probably will pee my pants. sorry if that was TMI.
the other person who has greatly influenced me is my maternal grandmother. she took me in from drug addicted parents and gave me a chance at life even though she had to support me on her social security income. (i was one of several actually). grams was always there, rain or shine. from the first wiggly tooth to the school diplomas.
i could go on and on about at least ten more people. i honestly love to describe relationships and storytelling when it comes to naming inspirational influences.
ANDREW E. KAUFMAN says
As a teenager, reading S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. I remember admiring how easily her words flowed and how effortless the dialogue seemed.
Mira says
Okay, third time's a charm. Let's just leave this part. (Sorry, Nathan, I just remembered this takes up your time. I'll be more careful.)
This is a good topic.
I don't really think of myself as a writer exactly. I want to use writing as a way to reach people and try to improve things. So, my influences were the books that made me want to be that type of person; all the books I read in childhood that set out the hero's journey, and the values of developing character, making ethical choices, sacrificing for an ideal. Those values captured me – partly out of romance, and partly out of inspiration. I think they made me think of life as a quest….on a deeper level.
So – in terms of acknowledging influence, you also have been an influence on me, Nathan. I learn and grow so much here.
Thank you.
coldfirewriter says
JK Rowling. She turned me into an avid reader and the first novel-length stuff I wrote was Harry Potter fanfiction. All the other books I had to read at the time bored me. An original character for a fanfic was too good to just leave there so I started my own novel with her in it 🙂
Locusts and Wild Honey says
Aw. Well, I guess I'll keep you.
The Am I Crazies are a small price to pay for your computer-fixing skills and that awesome risotto you make.
Alexis Grant says
I LOVED Roald Dahl when I was a kid! My favorite book: DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. Awesome.
I had a teacher in third grade who fussed over me, saying I was a good writer. She was the first person besides my parents to tell me that — and it stuck with me. I always remember that when I have the chance to encourage young people.
Diana says
Easy question.
In 3rd grade I wrote a one-page story about bears. When my teacher handed it back, she pointed to the big, red "A" on top and said, "You ought to be a writer. This is very good."
Well, in the concrete-thinking way of third graders, I thought she'd just given me my life's vocation. And since I really enjoyed writing that story, I made up my mind then and there that I would become a writer. Several years and many published books later…I think I can say that my third grade teacher was the most influential person in my writing life.
Remilda Graystone says
I actually began writing because I a) was bored, b) thought it would be fun to tell stories, and c) wanted to improve my typing. I know, I know, not the usual reasons people give for why they began writing, but…I still write, and I still love it.
My mom is my biggest supporter though, and she keeps me on track.
Bittersweet Fountain says
I blame my sister. When we were young she always wanted to play with me. However, she was never satisfied with just playing house or just dressing up Barbies. Instead, she demanded that I create stories for our Barbies and baby dolls to live. Most importantly – her character/Barbie/baby doll had to be the central character and I had to create stories surrounding her. You can't imagine the generations of Barbie sagas we have gone through, her playing the part of one Barbie and me creating stories for the thirty others (and their GI Joe husbands. Ken was never good enough for our Barbies).
So really, it's all her fault.