Post #2: Inspiration

So… this post has been harder to write than I expected. It is hard for me pinpoint what actually influenced me when it comes to writing. I believe this to be because what I actually love the most about books are the stories they tell. I have a respect for the craft of writing and have come to appreciate and love good writing, but that is not what started me on this journey. The most addictive part of this whole process for me is creating the story line and the fantasy world it is set in. However, this is problematic since it lengthens the list of my possible inspirations.

Harry Potter

I mentioned this series in my last post. This was the first story that I was truly obsessed with as a kid. There are a number of reasons for this, the first being that the main character’s birthday was very similar to mine. Second, I happened to be in the age group that grew up with series from start to finish. The first book was written three years after I was born and is the first novel I remember my parents reading to me, and the last movie was released the summer before my last year of school. The ability of this series to age with me as I grew up is something that I will never forget.

However, it would be pretty bad of me if this is the only reason I gave for ‘Harry Potter’ being such an inspiration for my story telling. After all, this post is meant to be about what inspired me to write and not just about what I enjoy reading in my spare time. I think J.K. Rowling really nailed a few very important aspects for me when writing this series that really made it stick with so many people. The first is her ability to create characters that are younger that actually connect with people of that age group. It was completely believable to me that the characters she crated could actually be real kids my age. This sounds like a simple task as everyone was young once, but as a kid who attended a boarding school, I have to admit, she nailed it.

I realize that the above doesn’t really explain what I’m going take from this and try to insert into my own writing… but I will try and rectify that presently. What I think really makes a story addicting is the personal growth of the characters. Being able to show that a character is learning and developing as the story progresses is not something I see in books very often. Usually, the characters in books are very stagnant and seem to make the same mistakes repeatedly, which gets old extremely fast. This has frequently been the factor that kills a story for me. So… I’m going to try really hard not to make that mistake. No promises.

Tolkien

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Why is this part not titled ‘Lord of the Rings‘?”. I promise that this was done on purpose. The reason I am constantly inspired by Tolkien is not just because of his ability to tell a great a story. In fact, there are parts of the story that I often forget. Now, this may be controversial, but I am not as fond of the Frodo and Sam story line as with the adventures of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it the first time I read it, it’s just not the reason I keep coming back to the series.

The reason I adore the works of Tolkien is due to his ability to create such a large fantasy world with its own unique features. I mean, he created 15 different languages and dialects. This seems like an absolute impossible act for someone like me who struggles to keep up with only two languages. He is also the founder and creator of the archetypal fantasy elves and dwarves which have been used by fantasy writers and creators ever since. The detail that he managed to put into his world astounds me every time I try and create my own. It’s also fairly depressing since I will never be able to do anything similar to that. But hopefully I can come somewhat close.

J.K. Rowling did create an amazing fantasy world, but it drew from real life quite a bit. Tolkien, however, created his whole world completely from scratch. Yes, he drew on real life experiences, but the fundamentals of his world were completely different than anything that had ever been done before. That’s the reason why Tolkien inspires me as a writer, his ability to create an entire world in his head. I still have a hard time understanding how that’s even possible for a human to do.

Hornblower

‘Hornblower’ by C.S. Forester was the series that I think really pushed me into writing. I realize that this series is not in the fantasy genre, but let me explain. Historical fiction has always been a genre that has been exciting for me. This may be due to the fact that I am a complete history nerd, but I don’t care. There is no world building when it comes to historical fiction, which can make it less exciting for some people, but as my mother always said, “the past is a foreign country”, which must be a quote from somewhere but I refuse to google it.

The thing that I loved about this series is how flawed the main character was. Most main characters in novels are pretty near perfect, they may have some flaws but only in a way that actually makes them better. Like when you go into an interview and say, “I think my biggest flaw is that I’m such a perfectionist.” I think that most people’s flaw is that they seem to think that that’s a flaw, but moving on. Forester really gave his main character some crippling flaws that he had to fight through in order to succeed. This made the character far more believable for me as a reader. Just from failed past experiences, I can tell you that creating a character with believable flaws is far harder than creating one that is perfect.

The Martian

Now, I do not normally like the science fiction genre, but this book by Andy Weir is an exception. The techie side of the book completely flew over my head since I admittedly have zero talent in the sciences, but the story telling was sublime. Weir’s style of writing is genuinely just funny, the book had me laughing out loud from the opening line. I had never laughed out loud while reading a book before so it was a new experience for me, which proved to be pleasant. I have learned to appreciate books that can be both serious and funny at the same time.

So… that’s it for this part. I expected this section to be longer, but I really don’t have anything else to add. Next.

Honourable Mentions

This is the section where I just dump all of my left-over thoughts, so feel free to skip this part (please don’t actually). This section may prove to be controversial for some people since I am going to mention two sources for inspiration that are not books… crazy, I know.

The first honourable mention goes to my time spent as an avid gamer. I may not play as many games as I used to, but that doesn’t mean they were just a phase during my childhood. RPG’s (Role Playing Games) were by far my favourite as they allowed me to become a character in the fantasy world itself, which is a magical experience for any kid who loved knights and dragons. This is what I meant when I said I was more enamoured with storytelling than writing at first. The ability to feel as if you are a part of the imaginary world is something that really fascinates me.

The second honourable mention goes to manga. Now, I do not have a particular series in mind, but hear me out. The thing that most inspires me about the world of manga is the sheer variety of stories that you can find. This showed me that it is possible to create something new even if you aren’t completely original. It’s all about doing it in a way that draws readers into the world and allows them to escape from reality for a minute or two… or several weeks. Depends on how much you want to procrastinate.

Conclusion

A conclusion may seem quite out of place in a blog, but I have been brainwashed by multiple years of academic training, so deal with it.

I suppose all of these previously mentioned inspirations of mine are like the building blocks of my future novel. I will probably never be as good as any of the authors I have mentioned in this post, but I hope I can at least be put in the same category as some of them. My aim is to be able to write something that people can immerse themselves in while also having a bit of a laugh.

I promise that this blog will eventually get on to the actual process of writing a fantasy novel… but maybe don’t hold your breath for that.

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