Blogger: Wendy Lawton
I’ve often thought that if I had enough time I should be able to trace the literary antecedents for many authors. I thought it might be fun today if we named a few of our literary heroes or literary mentors.
Here’s my stab at it:
- I’d like to be able to create an epic story like Helen Hooven Santmyer. (One of my favorite books: And Ladies of the Club.)
- I’d be happy if I was as hard working a writer as Louis L’amour.
- I wish I could make history come alive like Philippa Gregory.
- I wish I could touch the heart of the reader like Debbie Macomber.
- I’d give it all up to write just one book like To Kill A Mockingbird.
- I’d like to write a book as simple and profound as Sarah, Plain and Tall or Charlotte’s Web or Winnie the Pooh.
- I’d like to be able to communicate like C. S. Lewis.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. How about you? Do you have some literary heroes?
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Thank you for this fun topic, Wendy.
I wish I could create a world as real, as intriguing, and as rich as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth (Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings combined)–and seamless weave theology into it, as he did.
I would love to create characters that are as real and as delightful as those in James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small series, and could create a protagonist who is so utterly lovable that the reader not only enjoys spending time with him, but wants him for a friend. I also wish I had Herriot’s ability to write about real life in such a touching, charming, and hilarious way.
I wish I had James Thurber’s ability to make reality absurd and believable at the same time.
I would love to have Alexandre Dumas’ skill for combining adventure and humor so well that one doesn’t interfere with the other.
I mentioned the movie Charade yesterday on Janet’s Post. I would love to be able to write a story that hooks readers immediately, starts the intrigue, holds the tension throughout, and keeps readers wanting to keep turning the pages, and gives them tremendous satisfaction at the end while making them feel disappointed that they’ve reached the end of the journey.
I would love to create an epic like George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy, that combines good old fashioned storytelling with indelible characters who grow throughout the story arc, and adventure that provides pure entertainment while drawing from story traditions as disparate as the Greek Epic Hero story and the Saturday movie serial a la the Perils of Pauline. It would give me great joy to write a story that touches millions and gives them joy and delight, and to write a story that speaks to generation after generation.
Finally, I wish I could write about deep themes and human tragedy with the deceptive simplicity of a Seamus Heaney, and write poetry and words that stir and excite the soul the way William Butler Yeats’ poetry touches my soul.
I’ve left several influence off, but I think my list notes the writers who have most touched me as a reader and as a writer. My one addendum is: don’t forget the songwriters. There are songwriters whose work I have studied and studied (Paul Simon and Stevie Nicks, for example) because they can tell a story with such economy of words, yet with such depth of emotion and / or intellectual thought and with such rich language. I’ll end with one of my favorite lines from Stevie Nicks: Even children get older.
Blessings!
I would love to write something like “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It is dynamic and has transformed lives. Harper Lee is my literary hero. I’d also like to create something like “The Help.” That is another book that I love, heart and soul.
What a fun post, Wendy. Let’s see, I’d love to craft characters like the ones Jane Austen created with stories that hold humor and a message.
I wish I could put unexpected twists into my stories like Deb Raney does.
I’d love to be able to write dimensional stories like Dee Henderson does, with action and faith intertwined.
I agree this is a fun post.
I wish I had the introspection and the ability to forgive and be able to write about it like Paula D’Arcy.
I wish I could write a book about a community of cloistered nuns and their devotion to God in such detail like Rumer Godden did with “In this House of Brede”.
If I could of wrote one book, I wish it were Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind”.
I wish I had Agatha Christie’s ability to write great mysteries She even wrote a great short ghost story called “The Lamp” that was not a mystery.
I’d like to write books that entertain and feed like Francine Rivers’ contemporaries from a few years back.
I’d like to be able to surprise the reader with a major twist the way Kristin Hannah does (at least in the ones I’ve read).
And I’d so love to be as prolific as Karen Kingsbury! Can’t see how that’s possible now, but I am dreaming. 🙂
Wendy, it was great to meet you over the weekend. Hope you had a safe trip home.
Totally just blogged about what authors I’d like to write like!
http://jackieleasommers.com/2013/08/28/amalgamation/
I’d love to be able to write in a way that connects with SO many readers a la Jan Karon. Oh, and maybe with a dash of King David’s poetic flair!
I would love to write totally absorbing yet inconspicuously influential young adult like The Chronicles of Narnia. To quote Kathleen Kelly from You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.” Then think what sort of adult readers those young adults would become!
I would love to write books that examine the human psyche like Chris Fabry.
Like Sally, I would love to be as prolific as Karen Kingsbury.
I would love to write books as comedic and entertaining yet spiritually moving as Rene Gutteridge’s early works (Boo).
I would love to write books that usher the reader into the presence of the Almighty.
Great question, Wendy, and it was wonderful to see you at ACFW, even if it was just on the escalator. 🙂
Meghan, I didn’t know you were at ACFW. I’m so sorry I missed meeting you!
I was so busy with my preparations, Jeanne, I hadn’t figured how large a crowd 700+ would be. I’m sorry I missed you, too. Maybe next year?
Let’s definitely aim for next year. 🙂
Love the Kathleen Kelly quote from You’ve Got Mail.
It’s one of my favorites.
I was an avid reader in my youth, and until that movie, I never thought about how much it shaped me. Truth in fiction!
What a great idea.
I would love to be clever, funny, and imaginative like Dr. Seuss.
I wish I had the keen eye for detail of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I wish I could write long narratives and still make them engaging like Lucy Maud Montgomery.
It would be nice if I could blend the past and the present as well as Kimberley Griffiths Little.
I wish I could drop clues and still stun my readers with the outcome like in Kelly Moore’s Amber House.
Oh, what fun!
If I could fill my pen with the ink of other writers, I’d want to be…
-captivating, like Charlotte Bronte
-a character-crafter, like Charles Dickens
-a weaver of eternal-truth-and-story, like George MacDonald
-courage-inspiring, like C.S. Lewis
-spunky like L.M. Montgomery
-a little bit belovedly quaint, like Grace Livingston Hill
-an adventure-spinner like Mark Twain
…to name a few. And those are just the authors who are “no longer with us”! There are also those who are alive and well and writing today who are tremendous examples to me.
Your list is awesome Amanda!
Oh yes! Someone else who knows George MacDonald!!! He inspired so many of the others on our lists, like CS Lewis, Twain and Tolkien.
Connie! I want to jump for joy– someone to talk MacDonald with!!! OK. Malcolm MacPhail. Best hero ever, right? And yes, I love that he was the inspiration for so many others. …and yet so few have “met” him in his works. So happy to find this out about you! 🙂
My literary heroes are:
– Herman Wouk. I would love to be able to write epic sagas the way he has.
– Tom Clancy. His techno-thrillers entertain and inform.
And going back into antiquity:
– Charles Lamb, who overcame much to pursue writing. He never reached stardom, but a good number of his works endure.
– Thomas Carlyle. Before he went to extremes, he was able to produce a great amount of non-fiction that influenced a generation and beyond.
And lastly, poetry:
– Robert Frost. So much to say about him and what he did for poetry. I’d love for my best poetry to be as good as his worst.
I got home at 2am, and into bed by 3am. It’s hard to un-wind after a weekend like I had, and then a day like yesterday with goodbyes and travel and waiting in between for hours and hours in airports.
But…I’d love to be able to grip my readers like Jeannette Windle, Laura Frantz and Lori Benton. That was alphabetical, in case you’re wondering…
I am SO tired…I was about to mention Twilight…
You must be exhausted, Jennifer! I admire your perseverance though. You got a short list out!
I would like to write books
-Of epic proportion like Margaret Mitchell
-With movie making material like Nicholas Sparks
-That infuse seasons of struggle with hope like Joni Eareckson Tada does with her devotionals
-That cause laughter to bubble from a child’s mouth like stories from Mo Willems
-That capture the humor and imagination of a young person like Lauren Child does with her Charlie & Lola books
-With a setting or a house that burrows into the memory of the reader
Love this list, Jenni!
Thanks Kathy.
Great list, Jenni. I love your inclusion of Joni Eareckson Tada. What an inspiration!
I need to read her recent book since it comes highly recommended by you. 🙂
Great list, Jenni!
This is a concept I’ve thought about a lot as I try to learn from authors I admire.
I wish I could create riveting characters like Jill Williamson.
I wish I could weave plots like Jerry B. Jenkins.
I wish I could deliver a message like Randy Alcorn and Francine Rivers.
I wish I could incorporate humor like John Flanagan.
I just had this conversation with writing friends at ACFW this past weekend! I said:
I’d love to capture a setting like Laura Frantz, I’d love to master the spiritual journey like Francine Rivers, I’d love to relay historical detail like Lynn Austin, I’d love to tell a delightful tale like DeeAnn Gist, I’d love to create a character like L.M. Montgomery and I’d love to touch the heart like Maud Hart Lovelace. Ah, but I can only tell a story like Gabrielle Meyer. 🙂
L. M. Montgomery has been mentioned at least once, but I’d still like to add her name to my list of literary favorites. Something about autumn sets me in the mood for cozy, tea-sipping classics, and the Anne of Green Gables books/movies are some of my favorites. Although the books and movies are somewhat different, the character of Anne, with her high-falutin’ mumbo-jumbo way of expressing herself as she charms her way through life, carries through both. My list of favorite quotes is too long for this comment!
This is great. =)
I would like to be able to:
– world-build like J.K. Rowling, oh my gosh yes
– characterize like Suzanne Collins
– be as meaningful as C.S. Lewis
– create something as beautiful as Hans Christian Anderson’s works
– make my writing as gripping as Anthony Horowitz’s
– be as clever as Rick Riordan
I know I’ll think of a bazillion more as soon as I click on “post comment,” but here goes my list for now:
Colorful characters like Charles Dickens.
Varying layers and manifestations of faith in characters like George MacDonald.
Poignant intimacy without kissing or even touching, like Georgette Heyer or Tamara Leigh.
Mix of serious issues with humor like Jenny B. Jones.
Deep point of view and feel of the environment like Denise Hunter.
Awesome verbal banter between love interests like Rachel Hauck.
Action pacing and male point of view like Ronie Kendig.
Yes, I love Jane Austin, but I can’t think of a singular reason–just lover her!
My heart’s desire is to write books
with soul-baring honesty like Ginny Yttrup.
an allegory like C.S. Lewis ~ Screwtape Letters, where readers recognize themselves in the story and find Christ as they turn the pages.
With the amazing discipline, plot development, and heart for Christ, of Jerry B. Jenkins.
with the beautiful imagery and language of Wallace Stegner.
peppered with the humor and forthrightness of Erma Bombeck.
bursting with the beauty of childhood innocence like Margery Williams.
that stands the test of time like Harper Lee’s ~ To Kill A mockingbird.
Poetry ~ I can only repeat what David A. Todd said about Robert Frost. I would have loved to stopped by the woods on a snowy evening and penned poetry with Mr. Frost under moonlight.
Music lyrics ~ Gifted storyteller, Paul Simon’s (of Simon & Garfunkle)song, For Emily Wherever I May Find Her, was part of the inspiration for my Language of the Lake novel. ~ What a dream I had, Pressed in organdy, Clothed in crinoline of smokey burgundy, Softer than the rain.” Exquisite.
Whenever…
I wish I could make readers cry like Karen Kingsbury. I wish I could convey a Biblical truth to draw the reader closer to God like Robin Jones Gunn. And I wish I could make them laugh like Kristan Higgins.
Thanks for sharing your literary heroes!
I wish I could write “just the opposite” of Cormac McCarthy” . . .tightly and concisely. No wasted words.
“I’d give it all up to write just one book like To Kill A Mockingbird.”
Me, too, Wendy!
I’d love to be as winsome with words and story crafting as Laura Frantz. I’d be satisfied publishing just one book if its heroine were as captivating as L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, or as amazing as Catherine Marshall’s Christy. I would feel successful about shining a light in the darkness if I could entice the lost to hope like Francine Rivers did through Redeeming Love. I’d be thrilled if I could bring the smoldering fires of difficulty reading to a blaze that surpasses the challenge like Janette Oke did for me, and J.K. Rowling has done for my children.
If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then I hope I:
* Create characters as beloved as Jane Austen’s.
* Capture language and dialogue like Shakespeare.
* Put the reader in a time & place with the finesse of Laura Frantz.
* Approach situations with the humor of P.G. Wodehouse or Karen Witemeyer.
I could go on but that’s a start. Thank you for the fun exercise, Wendy!