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Who Have Been the Most Influential People in Your Writing Life?

June 16, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 203 Comments

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?

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Life of a Writer, Roald Dahl, Staying Sane While Writing, You Tell Me

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ljkuhnley says

    June 17, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    I don't think I ever thought I'd be naming my college playwrighting instructor as my inspiration as he never liked any of my work except for some ridiculous play I wrote as a joke about aliens body snatching these college kids' study partner but he did say one thing I will always remember.

    I told him I was afraid to let my characters do anything I wouldn't do. He said to let my characters do everything I wouldn't do.

    As I develop my style and my voice I have discovered that my voice is strongest when I write the things I'm afraid to say.

    Reply
  2. E. L. Psomiadis says

    June 17, 2010 at 12:20 pm

    My husband – He believes in me when even I don't.

    As far as authors go: Shakespeare, McCarthy, Elmer Kelton, Austen, Hunter S. Thompson, Amy Tan, King, Hemingway, Faulkner, Conrad, Flannery O'Connor, and of course . . . Anonymous

    Reply
  3. CMR says

    June 17, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    My mom has always been my biggest supporter and fan. She's willingly gone along with any crazy, cock-eyed story idea I've had, and didn't tell me how my decision to get a BFA in Creative Writing gave her heart palpitations until long after the fact. She gives me practical advice when I get stuck, whether with a plot or just writer's block (which has been severe lately).

    My friend and fellow-writer, Karen Kalbacher, has also been a great influence. Not as great with the critique (so hard to catch her!) but awesome when it comes to pep talks and sound writerly advice. She was the one who introduced me to NaNoWriMo, which taught me a lot about self-discipline.

    Reply
  4. WitLiz Today says

    June 17, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    Well, it for sure wasn't Ray Carver. One class with him and I turned tail and ran! Wasn't his fault though. I just didn't like to read or write short stories. The class was merely a whatchamacallit, an elective credit booster.

    But the reality was, I had no desire to be a writer. Why? Because I read a lot. And as a reader, I so admired and respected the hard work that authors like Agatha Christie, Herman Melville, Daphne Du Maurier, Phyllis Whitney, Raymond Chandler, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Theodore Dreiser, and Mr. Shakespeare to name a few, put into their work, that, lazy ass as I was, I had no desire to emulate them.

    What? Waste my time writing in a corn hole when there was this big ol’ playground of a world out there that didn't involve thinking, and coming down with carpal tunnel syndrome from using a manual typewriter, soon to be electric, soon to be computer.

    Ix nay on that! (Even though I spent half my college life in creative writing classes, God only knows why). Yes, there were times I'd start reading a book and think, 'I could do this,', but by page 586, it was, 'I don't ever wanna do this!' EVAH.

    So, I spent most of my life running away from writing. Well, I got older. The computer was born. I slowed way down. Took stock of my life and decided to leave a memoir for my children. Then when I ran into rough waters with that, I decided to try my hand at making stuff up. That's been an interesting journey. Maybe I'll write a book about it.

    'Til then, I sit in an easy chair and type away wondering what in the name of Aloysius I'm doing.

    Reply
  5. John says

    June 17, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    Harold Bloom — he turned me on to the good stuff in college.

    Reply
  6. mollie says

    June 17, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    i always knew i was a writer, my mother was very supportive of this when i was young. but no one ever treated it as something real i could follow, and i let it get squashed out of me until about age 40 (6 yrs ago.) i read a book called "deep in shade of paradise" by john dufresne, which was terrific. the writing really resonated with me, the style, the language. i thought "i could do this." john has a wonderful gift for using the unusual, and in the middle of the book the omniscient narrator asks for you, the reader, to tell him about your first love. and provides a blank page on which to do so. and then gives his email (real) to send it to if you want someone to read it. and i did. he wrote back and said he had a book on writing fiction coming out called "the lie to tell the truth." i ordered that book and i haven't stopped writing since. john d. has since become a friend and mentor. i could not recommend his work more. his most recent book on writing is called "is life like this? a guide to writing your first novel in 6 months." run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore. or amazon, rather.

    Reply
  7. Dara says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    My parents and my sister, and more recently, my husband. My parents started me out on the path before I even really knew how to write (Mom would transcribe stories of mine when I was four or five). My sister shares the same passion for storytelling as I do so we often encourage one another along the path. And my husband is always there, encouraging me to keep going when I just want to give up.

    So, I'd say most of the influential people have come from my family. Sure I have a few writers who helped influence me–namely those authors of the American Girl series, because that's what helped combine my love of history and writing when I was young.

    Reply
  8. Magdalena Munro says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    I forgot to mention in my original post that the first time I met Garrison Keillor (I'm originally from Minnesota and good friends with his son) he handed me one of his "famous" martinis and said my name aloud and told me that this was a fine name for an author. I thought it was silly at the time but for whatever reason, the sentence stuck with me. It's still pretty silly but it is what it is.

    Reply
  9. Debbie says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Louisa May Alcott got me thinking about becoming a writer–like Jo. That was set aside for more "practical" matters until a discussion with a friend. She had just graduated from film school. I told her I admired her for pursuing her dream. She asked what my dream was. I answered, of course, "Writing."

    "Then be a writer." 10 years, a couple published short stories, 3.5 completed first drafts of novels and one almost ready to submit novel later, I am a writer.

    Reply
  10. Callan says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    Kafka. And my love for reading. Two close friends and another friend Brandye.

    Reply
  11. M.J.B. says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    My parents — they only censored me until Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" changed my life in fourth grade and then let me read the F-word ridden "The Lost World" a year later. They have never stopped encouraging me.

    Stephen King — "The Shining" was the first time a story jumped out of the page and physically affected me (via terror). It showed me the power of good writing.

    J.K. Rowling — she has taught me everything I think I know about successfully layering characters, backstory, plot, mystery, plants/payoffs, and everything in between. She is a genius.

    Audrey Niffenegger — "The Time Traveler's Wife." This is the book I pick up, flip through, and smell when I need inspiration.

    Reply
  12. Callan says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Kafka. Two close friends both named Julie. A close friend named brandye and ever book I have ever read that moved me. Every song that made me cry and every painting I saw that caused me to stop and wonder at what people are capable of when they are inspired

    Reply
  13. BlackJack says

    June 17, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    My mom used to write all the time, and I didn't find this out until after I started writing. I started writing for fun in 5th grade, and, my 5th grade teacher, Ms. Lamb, supported me in helping me enter contests and putting things together for me at that age. I've continued doing this on and off, but not as much as I would have liked to. my mom, ms. lamb, and my current boyfriend have definitely been influential people in my life who have loved writing just as much as I have and pushed me to do it for fun as long as I enjoy it.

    Reply
  14. Scott says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    I can point to a number of comments from family, friends and teachers that set me on the path, but I've always had ideas for stories that I felt needed to be told for one reason or another. Hooks that make me excited, and drove me to the page. A love of language–and people who knew how to use it–has always been there, as well.

    I'll put it down to my father, though. We grew up in a house with a room that had a library to the ceiling and musical instruments everywhere you looked. That was my playroom, and I'm so thankful that he decided to create one of those than one with a computer games and a pool table.

    Although, had I become proficient in pool, I might have a little more dosh. 🙂

    Reply
  15. Esther V. says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    Not so sure. I've always loved to write. I've also admired good-quality writers, so I tend to try to write like them.

    Reply
  16. Jason says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    Mr. Bransford,

    I've always wanted to be a writer, but I can think of only two things that actually made me finish a novel:

    First, I was frustrated at work. I have a GREAT job working as an engineer for NASA, but sometimes … well, sometimes other people stand in the way of progress.

    Second, I found an amazing post on a blog by Scott Berkun on "how to write a book". He said that 20% of people who asked him that question were asking for permission. His response was "you don't need permission". I think that's wrong.

    "But wait," you say, "if it's wrong why was it such a wonderful blog posting?" The answer is simple:

    I realized when I read that sentence, that there was only one person who could give me permission to write a novel: me. And I think it is important to give yourself permission. Permission to fail. Permission to ignore your loved ones for hours at a time. Permission to try.

    I gave myself permission. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. That moment was exceeded by finishing the novel, and having friends tell me of their enjoyment while reading it. I'm hopeful that, someday, an agent will say the same thing–probably after many revisions! 🙂

    Thank you for giving us all the opportunity to discuss this. I hope you enjoy reading people's stories–there are a number of truly inspiring ones on this page.

    Cheers,

    -Jason

    Reply
  17. Anonymous says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    Phillip Roth and John Updike. Yeah, yeah, the great American narcissists I know, but there's a rawness to their writing style, an acceptance of appetite–however misguided–that I think has been lost in a lot newer literature. We have a lot of talent now, but a lot of precious melodrama, too. It's like there's a denial of base human impulse. For example, compare sometime the Oskar in Gunter Grass' "The Tin Drum" to the Oscar in J.S. Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." It's the difference, I think, between a writer who has seen real violence and a writer who has seen violence on TV and in the media.

    Reply
  18. ella144 says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    Lucy Maud Montgomery, Robert Jordan, and Diana Wynne Jones who showed me great plots, amazing characters, and opened my mind to the possibilities. And my husband who knew I was a writer before I did.

    Reply
  19. Mike says

    June 17, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    I have a friend of mine who is an artist. Whenever I see his work, I just have to write and dream that I'll be as talented at writing as he is at painting/drawing.

    The authors that have inspired me most are probably Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Stephen King. They were some of the first adult authors that I read and they just blew my mind.

    Reply
  20. Anonymous says

    June 17, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    My grade school teachers because they always asked us to make up stories about pictures; Hans Christian Anderson; my husband, who encouraged me to come out of the closet and begin to share my writing, first with him, then with others, then to go for it; Terry Prachett; Tom Robbins; my daughter,who liked to have first reads when she was little, who loves my stories when they're good, and who tells me they suck when they can't keep her interest (or when she is feeling pissy at me; my Mom who read to me; and the running boy who whispers to me still.

    Reply
  21. RosieC says

    June 17, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    Years and years ago, it was my JHS English teacher Mrs. Potowsky, and my HS teachers Mrs. Kaiser and Becky Blake. They were amazingly supportive (although Mrs. Potowsky strongly objected to my use of "gonna" in dialogue) and encouraged me to try new things.

    I moved away from writing for a long time ("What are you going to do with a BFA in writing?" was the dominant theme of my freshman and sophomore years of college), but since I've come back to it, my husband and my sister-in-law have both been wonderfully supportive, though in very different ways. I owe them both a lot of thanks.

    Reply
  22. Court Sherwin says

    June 17, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    Dennis Lehane.
    Lehane did an interview in which he spoke about a short quote he keeps close to him. It says "Nobody cares" and it has positive and negative connotations depending on how you look at it. It's always been inspirational to me.

    Reply
  23. mollie says

    June 17, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    dennis lehane got his MFA at florida international university in miami under John Dufresne. John said "mystic river" was his thesis.

    Reply
  24. sharonedge says

    June 17, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    My sixth grade teacher was a published author. She taught me that real people wrote books, and I knew then that I wanted to be an author, too. I've had hundreds of short pieces published in the past twenty years, and now I'm working on book-length fiction.

    My critique group keeps me writing. There are five of us, all with jobs and families, who meet once a month. We are a mutual support system, and it must work; one of our members just sold her first book.

    Reply
  25. Anonymous says

    June 17, 2010 at 6:14 pm

    For me it was Herman Hesse and my older sister.

    When we were little, my older sister invented a game she called little people. We made up elaborate stories when playing with spools of thread, pencils and chains. The pencils were boys and the chains were girls. When we used spools of thread we chose certain colors for the males and females. After that my imagination took off.

    In college, I read every book Herman Hesse wrote. I loved the way he was influenced by Karl Jung. In one of his books there is a dream sequence that got me writing my first short story.

    Reply
  26. Heidi Yantzi says

    June 17, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    After more thought, I figure the people who most influenced my writing are the ones I grew up with, as in neighbours, farmers, people I went to church with, other kids at school. And then in my town-life phase, it became a whole other group for me to find commonalities with.

    I really believe the landscape of my life is my big influence, literally. Hay fields, trees, barns. Roads. But the thing is, that kind of landscape is full of people who are also shaped by it whether they know it or not.

    Reply
  27. passinglovenotes says

    June 17, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    My beta reader and fellow writer, who also aspires to be published,Penelope Wright. She has improved my dialog-writing one hundred fold.

    Reply
  28. Terri Tiffany says

    June 17, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Easy–my husband and best friend. Neither laughed when I said I really wanted to take writing seriously.

    Reply
  29. James says

    June 17, 2010 at 8:22 pm

    I try not to think too much about the people who have encouraged me to write; grudges are so unbecoming.

    Reply
  30. Anassa says

    June 17, 2010 at 9:13 pm

    My dad is a writer, editor, and sometime writing teacher who's supported my creativity and love of words since I was old enough to display them. He's been through all the highs and lows of the writing biz, so I tend to turn to him when I hit them too.

    My third-year university roommate, because she introduced me to the idea that writing could be fun rather than flat-out essay-style boring.

    Reply
  31. Jenn Kelly says

    June 17, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    This is slightly cheesy, but my husband. He made me get a sitter once a week so I could go out and write for a whole day at Starbucks. I'm a stay-at-home mom so the guilt was huge, especially considering he worked two jobs so I could stay home. But it paid off. I got published. Book comes out in 50 days. He inspired me by believing I could do it, even when I didn't want to or felt guilty.

    Reply
  32. J. T. Shea says

    June 17, 2010 at 9:33 pm

    Mrs. Nathan's blog is very educational. Today I learned:-

    1 The farmer and the cowman SHOULD be friends.

    2 Lego World Cup is better than the real thing.

    Class dismissed!

    Reply
  33. Cassandra Bonmot says

    June 17, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    David Ogilvy, the famous ad man. I wanted to write brilliant, persuasive copy just like him. In fact, I became obsessed with syntax and interestingly phrased sentences whether taken from a Captain Crunch cereal box, back of Raymond Chandler book or an ad for starting your own worm farm. I fell in love with the written word.

    Reply
  34. y-write says

    June 18, 2010 at 12:01 am

    This is going to sound so silly but, gotta share. Have you ever heard of Carolyn Keene? The psuedonym for the writer of the Nancy Drew series? Well, that would be it. Sorry it wasn't more dramatic.

    Reply
  35. Fat Bastard says

    June 18, 2010 at 1:59 am

    Salman Rushdie inspired me to write. He came up with "Got Milk?" in his days as an ad man.

    Reply
  36. T.Y. says

    June 18, 2010 at 3:17 am

    Christopher Pike! There is no limit to his imagination and he taught me the artistry of simple, engaging prose and to write on a deadline.

    Reply
  37. fivecats says

    June 18, 2010 at 3:36 am

    John McCann, my honors english teacher who made be believe i could write.

    Charles de Lint who was the first person to tell me that i was a writer.

    Reply
  38. Melissa Emerald says

    June 18, 2010 at 7:33 am

    I read these wonderful, heartfelt comments and it makes me a little sad. Many of you had parents or grandparents that encouraged you to read or write from an early age. Lucky, lucky you!

    I had (still have) wonderful, loving parents, but they pushed work ethic, not reading. And certainly not writing. I'll never forget the time my mother admonished me after finding a story I wrote about a girl who wanted to run away from home.

    Unfortunately, I'd have to say that I am my own influential person. But I have to tell you, it's hard to be your own cheerleader. A couple months ago I joined a great online writing group and I bet the members will soon become the most influential people in my writing life.

    Reply
  39. G says

    June 18, 2010 at 10:41 am

    Interesting question, and it deserves an off the wall answer.

    No one has really been influential in my writing life to date (only started writing four years ago).

    I sort of slog at it alone, pick up writing tips from other writers that I like, but for the most part there hasn't been that one writer that made me want to write.

    There was certain influential events that made me pick up a pen to start writing, but for the most part, I am a by-product of me and no one else.

    Reply
  40. d_Taoist says

    June 18, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    It's odd. Though I write fiction, the one person who first came to mind was an essayist. About ten years ago, I was just starting to write and I fell upon Richard Rodriguez' Hunger for Memory. I don't know what got into me, but I looked him up and found an a phone number for him on the internet. I called him at his office and told him I loved his work and that I would love any advice he had to give. He offered to meet with me and actually bought me lunch. We talked about writing, and though I was young and arrogant about his comments on something I gave him to read, he was extremely gracious and generous.

    Reply
  41. Barbara's Spot on the Blog says

    June 18, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    Dad for sure. As kids we spent months travelling through England and Europe. We lived in a camper van–5 people all crammed together. With no electricity (this was a long time ago) we'd sit around the kitchen table at night with a small candle and Dad would tell stories. He was our first and still the best storyteller.

    Reply
  42. Stephanie says

    June 18, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    I have always loved books and was constantly at the local library. That wondrous place transported me to so many places. It fueled and captured my young imagination. My favorite book as a teen was: The Song Master by Orson Scott Card (still love it)

    When I started my first novel several years back, it was my mother-in-law who influenced me. She passed away from cancer two years ago, but she always believed in me, even when I doubted myself.

    After a very long hiatus I've started writing again. When I doubt myself I think back to how much she believed in me and know that I can do this and will be published.

    Reply
  43. Cori says

    June 19, 2010 at 1:26 am

    For me, it was my freshman English teacher. When I was in middle school, I wrote songs and poems because I had just started singing and thought I could do anything. (Songs…not for me.) My freshman year was the first time anyone bothered to teach me HOW to write. Once I learned the basics, I was unstopable. I carried a notebook with me all the time and wrote chapter upon chapter of mindless teenage blather – which Mrs. Cunninham read faithfully every time I finished a book.

    Reply
  44. Anonymous says

    June 19, 2010 at 1:29 am

    The most influential person in my writing life is likely Edgar Allan Poe. When I was about 12, I studied his style and was amazed he wrote so much before dying at the age of 40. He was so expressive concerning his depression, isolation and loving someone he couldn't have. I related to him even more when I lost my family at 18 and began to write expressive letters to them, about my own feelings which helped my grief. My favorite writer was Roald Dahl, because his talent entertained adults as well as children better than anyone else. Children love the spice and added mystery. Like Poe, his expression of characters was incredible.

    Reply
  45. Christine says

    June 19, 2010 at 2:41 am

    I do it in spite of the naysayers-there have been plenty and most of them family.

    I have my idols, but I am doing this FOR ME.

    Reply
  46. Jean says

    June 19, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    YOU, Nathan. How could someone as hard and rejecting as YOU be the most influencial person in my currently nonexistant writing career? Yeah, I'm shocked, too.

    Reply
  47. Donna B says

    June 19, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    Oh my gosh, there are so many authors who invited me into the worlds they created over the years that I can't even begin to name just one or two.I became mostly a bookworm in high school and it's never gone away (I just hide it a little better).

    So to Tom Clancy, and Nora Roberts, and Nicholas Sparks and Dean Koontz, and Piers Anthony (yes, my reading is eclectic) and a slew of others, thank you!

    And even more thanks goes to the first editor who gave me more than a standard rejection. My first ebook, Wolf! is being released 10/1 by Whispers Publishing.

    Reply
  48. Trish says

    June 20, 2010 at 2:22 am

    Jean said…
    Quote[YOU, Nathan. How could someone as hard and rejecting as YOU be the most influencial person in my currently nonexistant writing career? Yeah, I'm shocked, too.]Quote

    Haahaa. I loved this. I agree, you help us more than you know, Nathan.

    Reply
  49. C Ann says

    June 20, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    There have been various people who influenced me at certain points of my life. My grandmother whose passion was music; battled with emphasema but still found ways to play or write her music. She taught me that no matter what condition you are in (body or life) don't give up on what you love most. My husband; who refused to let me give up on my dream to write when I gave up on myself.

    Reply
  50. Nicole Marie Schreiber says

    June 22, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    1. Books I loved as a child like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little Women, Trixie Belden series, Johnny Tremain, etc, really influenced my love of the written word.

    I have to say that movies I saw as a child were influential to me as well, because they helped me to fall in love with adventure stories like Indiana Jones and Star Wars and Back to the Future. Stories began churning about in my brain and never stopped.

    I fell in love with historical fiction, adventure stories, and fantasy and wanted to write stories like that. I also WANTED to be Jo March in Little Women or Anne of Anne of Green Gables. I loved, and still do, female characters who were writers.

    Reply
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