Books, Quotes...That Influences/Changed the Way You Write

  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

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    Quotes, books, authors, stories, etc. that changed the way you write.
    From "I Was a Teenage Fairy" by Francesca Lia Block.

    He reached under the covers and touched his groin. Maybe if he came he wouldn't need to cry. But sex, especially sex like this alone and hot more from shame than desire, wasn't going to do anything except make his sheets wet and his wrists ache.

    That line influenced me a lot.
    May 27th, 2008 at 10:39pm
  • CoolinaCUP

    CoolinaCUP (100)

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    Oh, God, I love that book. Gorgeous cover to cover.

    I love, but don't really get inspiration from, Palahnuik. There's a lot of fabulous stuff on his web site....fuck I can't find what I read. Go to his site though. Even if you don't like his stuff, there is much to be learned.
    May 28th, 2008 at 01:05am
  • astroz0mbie

    astroz0mbie (160)

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    The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold Candy by Luke Davies. Those two were pretty big for me. There's others, but only one liners. I get a lot of influence from the likes of Oscar Wilde and such, and sometimes only in character--the writer's ideas and way of life, not just work. Others include Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, the oldies. Haha. :]
    May 28th, 2008 at 01:14am
  • ward-o

    ward-o (150)

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    Stefanie Meyer, I can't remember from which book, but Bella once said "We're so predictable in the dark" or something along those lines.

    It inspired me to write some pretty nifty One Shots :coffee:

    [/lame]
    May 28th, 2008 at 04:15am
  • Jepha Howard.

    Jepha Howard. (500)

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    I get a lot of influence from Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and Dreamland.
    May 28th, 2008 at 04:21am
  • traceuse.

    traceuse. (350)

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    I think it'd be safe to say that Chuck Palahniuk pretty much influenced my life, so that'd include my writing too.
    May 28th, 2008 at 04:39am
  • animrod

    animrod (100)

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    The way Stephen King writes influences nearly all of my creativity.
    May 28th, 2008 at 06:23am
  • chrissie.

    chrissie. (250)

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    Adeline Yen Mah and Chuck Palahniuk.
    Both amazing authors which I love. In Love
    May 28th, 2008 at 08:32am
  • Laceration Gravity

    Laceration Gravity (200)

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    Has anybody read "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon? I think it's written by Stephen King and it made me cry so much when he was describing the small girl's isolation... I was 11 and crying in the middle of maths class... :lmfao
    May 28th, 2008 at 09:52am
  • The Way

    The Way (1400)

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    Neil Gaiman is In Love.
    May 28th, 2008 at 12:22pm
  • AbiAdore

    AbiAdore (100)

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    Reading Stephen King is what inspired me to really start writing again. I hadn't really been writing anything for a long time, but after reading Rose Madder and Pet Semetary, something clicked. I wrote this horror one shot back in September that I only didn't post because I couldn't think of a name for it... I think parts of his style have seeped into everything I've written since I got into his books. Damn, that one-off Frerard that I wrote downright stole his "between the lines" kind of thing, where he will put sentences or short flashbacks in bracketed italics on a new line in the middle of sentences, to put across something going on in the character's mind that they are maybe overlooking. That was only for one story, thankfully - if I had continued with it it would have just been some sort of plaigiarism - but some people have told me that my style is a lot like his.
    May 28th, 2008 at 01:36pm
  • Laceration Gravity

    Laceration Gravity (200)

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    I read Harry Potter and thought it was amazing... But then read other stories by King and Prachett (sp?) And discovered a new world of literature -cue cheesy music-
    May 28th, 2008 at 02:10pm
  • kafka.

    kafka. (150)

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    I've been influenced by many authors. :file:
    1.Jorge Luis Borges he's ___________ just beyond words. I love his poems and stories to bits, he gave me hope that there is still place for dreams. And the labyrinth fascination also.
    2. Bacovia, Baudelaire, Moreas, etc.- the symbolists. Together with Hesse and Kafka they showed me that simple words and concepts are better than complicated ones. You might say that I got the colors from them. : )
    3. Lucian Blaga he's ___________ too. I got the light from him.
    4. Mihai Eminescu. I got the stars, the suns and the moons, the love, the endless autumns, the lakes, the lovers, the time talk, the fear and nonetheless Time and Demiorgos.
    5. F. Scott Fitzgerald. The damnation. The modern Greek tragedy and the complicated affairs. Words that flow even if they are simple.

    I think I'll stop. I think I learn something from every book I read, I pick up something from every line. Every poem or story I read influences me and changes my view on writing and the world.

    Oh. I remembered one very important influence: Frida Kahlo. She's technically a painter, but her paintings have inspired me a great deal in my writing. She gave me the sense of the self-portrait and the courage to put all my insides in art, out there for the world to see.
    May 28th, 2008 at 02:17pm
  • Rose Red

    Rose Red (400)

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    Oh man I have to name some? There's too many.

    1. The Lord Of The Rings, because Tolkien is a genuis.
    2. Twilight series. After I read the books something just clicked and my writing got a lot more... real I guess you could say?
    3.Anything by Stephen King
    4. Speak
    5. Pretty much any other amazing book on the market will influence me in some way.
    May 28th, 2008 at 04:10pm
  • Mike Dirnt.

    Mike Dirnt. (100)

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    1. JK Rowling. I know its lame, but I learned everything I know about limited third person from her.
    2. William Golding. He just has such simple, honest descriptions...it's so perfect.
    3. Liz aka iATEjimmysWORLD.
    4. Dru, of course.
    5. Lemony Snicket. He is really really awesome.
    6. Most recently, Jed Rubenfeld. I want to try a story using the narration style he uses in "The Interpretation of Murder"
    7. Roald Dahl.
    May 28th, 2008 at 04:15pm
  • What's in a name?

    What's in a name? (100)

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    Fantasy in general. It was the genre that made me want to be a writer.
    And horror books. Love those.

    I suppose J.R.R Tolkien was an inspiration. I admire that he created a whole world, a whole universe, for the The Lord if the Rings trilogy.

    And David Eddings. His books has this humor that I wish my writing had.

    Robert Jordan. I don’t know how he does it but somehow he keeps the plot together, the characters distinct and the story from becoming boring. And I think the series (The Wheel of Time) has about 11 books so far (in Sweden it’s twice as many because the translators divided each book into two. The books are still around 300-400 pages long though). It’s insane.

    Edgar Allen Poe, of course. I like the ominous atmosphere in his stories. I like attempting to create that in my writing.

    Then there’s Elizabeth (carcinogenic.) and Callie (terby doll.). Their writing made me realize that I could (should?) incorporate the kind of metaphors I use in my poetry in my stories. Reading their stories has (hopefully) had a positive influence on the imagery in my stories.

    Oh, and Gustaf Fröding. He was a Swedish poet and writer. He used some lovely metaphors and I completely adore some of his poems.

    And the quote “Shrill notes begin, the grim violin, then from the silence a violence of sirens orchestrate the score to which one more corpse is left quiet. How we become the hollows of drums, the rests between notes, the hollers that never reach throats.” from the song Salty Eyes by The Matches. That had a huge influence on my writing. It affected the way I construct metaphors and basically just the way I think when coming up with my imagery.
    (And I’ve been asked so many times how I come up with some of my metaphors. :tehe: I think I finally have an answer; it’s thanks to Shawn and The Matches lyrics. :XD )

    A whole lot of Green Day’s lyrics were what fuelled my fascination with psychology. x ] So it’s their fault my stories are packed with it.

    And lately, basically every song by Motion City Soundtrack. I love their lyrics. I love the alliterations, the rhymes and the metaphors.

    And I think that's about it.
    May 28th, 2008 at 05:03pm
  • jane elliot .

    jane elliot . (100)

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    My writing is heavily influenced by L.M. Montgomery (who I consider to be one of the greatest writers of all time) and James Harriot.

    I just love Montgomery's beautiful characters and description, and Harriot's fantastic sarcasm and wit.

    I'll admit that I'm trying to live up to their standards of writing.
    May 28th, 2008 at 07:35pm
  • Mike Dirnt.

    Mike Dirnt. (100)

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    You know what? I pretty much learned how to write through fanfiction. But the very first stories I wanted to write were fantasy. I was inspired by books like Pig Tale by Verilyn Fleiger and Moore Child. And both of those books are very special to me.
    May 28th, 2008 at 07:50pm
  • The Master

    The Master (15)

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    So many...I'll let you read the quotes.
    Daddy - Sylvia Plath:
    There’s a stake in your fat black heart
    And the villagers never liked you.
    They are dancing and stamping on you.
    They always knew it was you.
    Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.
    Do No go Gentle into That Good Night - Dylan Thomas:
    Do not go gentle into that good night,
    Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
    Cider With Rosie - Laurie Lee:
    It was a world that I wanted to record because it was such a miracle visitation to me.
    The Worst Witch All At Sea - Jill Murphy:
    "Once in a purple moon, there is a special young witch who shines above the rest. Often she goes unnoticed, because she is always out of step. I have seen this girl trying to fly. Oh yes, I have. I've seen her at play and how her friends treated her. A true witch isn't always one who comes out on top of the tests. A true witch has witchcraft in her at all times, and this is what you have, Mildred Hubble. And so, Ms. Cackle, I ask you to make the rest of the day a half-holiday. "
    The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock - TS Eliot.:
    Let us go then, you and I,
    When the evening is spread out against the sky
    Like a patient etherised upon a table;
    Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
    The muttering retreats
    The Unearthly Child:
    Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the Fourth Dimension? Have you? To be exiles? Susan and I are cut off from our own planet - without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day....
    May 28th, 2008 at 07:53pm
  • Jepha Howard.

    Jepha Howard. (500)

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    lyrical_mess:
    You know what? I pretty much learned how to write through fanfiction.
    I agree.
    I've learned to be a better writer from creations of other authors on here. I'll say that I think Liz (carcinogenic) and Fink (havewelostjimmy?) inspire me daily. Blue does, aswell. They're all beautiful writers, which inspires me to be better.
    May 28th, 2008 at 08:03pm