Authors need to read. Learning by example is one of the most fundamental and seemingly obvious pieces of advice anyone can give an aspiring author like myself, for a huge number of reasons.
In a previous post I explored a few of my writing heroes, but a list of favourite writers, like a list of favourite books or films is never truly exhaustive, and so I figured I’d pick up that thread and continue running with it, like a deranged kitten of some sort.
When I think of being an author, of writing, I can’t help think about all the work of others I have read over the years, about the things that inspire me, about the works that have touched and moved me. I know it’s a cliché to talk about standing on the shoulders of giants, but in many ways the cliché rings true.
If I do ever become successful as an author, then it will be, to a greater or lesser extent, due to the works of various authors who have inspired me to put pen to paper – or rather, finger to keyboard. I want to take the time to talk about a few of these literary heroes, and will probably do so again so don’t be fooled into thinking what I say in this post is by any means an exhaustive list.