On the importance of Influence
I just finished reading Stephen King's newest novel, Revival.
I won't ruin anything for anyone who wants to read it, but I will say that you can see the heavy influence of H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley and the novel The Great God Pan in the book.
There are writers out there who scorn such things. They feel that when a book is inspired by another piece of fiction or if the influence is clearly seen (as it is in King's book) that it is a kind of thievery. Almost like a cheat.
"Not original," they will say.
I have spoken to writers who flatly refuse to read any books while they are working on a novel for fear that some kind of influence with drip its way into their masterpiece.
I'm sorry to tell them that the influence is there whether you know it or not.
Nor is this something that writers should feel ashamed of.
Does the scientist who makes great breakthroughs feel ashamed because his work was inspired by Newton and Einstein? Do the architects of today feel embarrassed when their work is compared to Frank Lloyd Wright?
I can't say for certain, but I think that the answer to both those questions is no.
Yet, when it comes to the creative arts there seems to be a thought that unless what you're doing is wholly original then it is useless and recycled drivel.
I won't argue that there is some recycled drivel out there (there's a difference between being inspired and just ripping someone off) but I think those books are the exception rather than the rule.
I can't speak for others, but I know when I wanted to start to write books. I had read The Indian in the Cupboard and had moved on to The Hardy Boys. I was a year or two away from discovering Stephen King and Ernest Hemingway.
Reading those Hardy Boys books gave me such pleasure that I knew I wanted to give that feeling to others. A lot of my early stories (written when I was about ten-years-old) were barely more than copies of what I was currently reading.
As I grew older, and read more widely, I developed my own style. I perfected my own voice.
That voice is what I think scares the writers who are afraid of being influenced. Because Revival, while clearly inspired by Lovecraft, is without a doubt a Stephen King novel. His voice is there, loud and clear.
You see, when I began to gain my voice as a writer even the imitations I wrote came out different. They were still far too close for comfort from a legal standpoint but they no longer read like the Hardy Boys books I read. They had become my own creations.
As I wrote more I began to generate my own ideas. Some were inspired by things I read, some by things I saw on television or the movies and some by things that I wondered about.
Do I feel ashamed that I wrote things that were inspired by the work of others? I do not.
Because while my own unique experience has shaped the ideas I have and the things that I like reading about, it's my voice as a writer that allows me to share it all with you from my point of view.
Don't be afraid to be influenced. If it weren't for those who came before us then none of us would be here now.
I won't ruin anything for anyone who wants to read it, but I will say that you can see the heavy influence of H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley and the novel The Great God Pan in the book.
There are writers out there who scorn such things. They feel that when a book is inspired by another piece of fiction or if the influence is clearly seen (as it is in King's book) that it is a kind of thievery. Almost like a cheat.
"Not original," they will say.
I have spoken to writers who flatly refuse to read any books while they are working on a novel for fear that some kind of influence with drip its way into their masterpiece.
I'm sorry to tell them that the influence is there whether you know it or not.
Nor is this something that writers should feel ashamed of.
Does the scientist who makes great breakthroughs feel ashamed because his work was inspired by Newton and Einstein? Do the architects of today feel embarrassed when their work is compared to Frank Lloyd Wright?
I can't say for certain, but I think that the answer to both those questions is no.
Yet, when it comes to the creative arts there seems to be a thought that unless what you're doing is wholly original then it is useless and recycled drivel.
I won't argue that there is some recycled drivel out there (there's a difference between being inspired and just ripping someone off) but I think those books are the exception rather than the rule.
I can't speak for others, but I know when I wanted to start to write books. I had read The Indian in the Cupboard and had moved on to The Hardy Boys. I was a year or two away from discovering Stephen King and Ernest Hemingway.
Reading those Hardy Boys books gave me such pleasure that I knew I wanted to give that feeling to others. A lot of my early stories (written when I was about ten-years-old) were barely more than copies of what I was currently reading.
As I grew older, and read more widely, I developed my own style. I perfected my own voice.
That voice is what I think scares the writers who are afraid of being influenced. Because Revival, while clearly inspired by Lovecraft, is without a doubt a Stephen King novel. His voice is there, loud and clear.
You see, when I began to gain my voice as a writer even the imitations I wrote came out different. They were still far too close for comfort from a legal standpoint but they no longer read like the Hardy Boys books I read. They had become my own creations.
As I wrote more I began to generate my own ideas. Some were inspired by things I read, some by things I saw on television or the movies and some by things that I wondered about.
Do I feel ashamed that I wrote things that were inspired by the work of others? I do not.
Because while my own unique experience has shaped the ideas I have and the things that I like reading about, it's my voice as a writer that allows me to share it all with you from my point of view.
Don't be afraid to be influenced. If it weren't for those who came before us then none of us would be here now.
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