Eric Allen
asked
James Islington:
Who are some of your favorite authors, and do you think that they've influenced your writing style and the type of stories that you want to tell?
James Islington
Who are some of your favourite authors?
When I was a teenager, my favourite authors were probably Raymond Feist, Robert Jordan and Stephen Lawhead. More recently, it'd be Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss.
Do you think that they’ve influenced your writing style and the type of stories that you want to tell?
Definitely. As an author, you’re (hopefully) trying to tell a story that you’d personally want to read - I think the best way to do that is to be aware of what you find most engaging about other stories, and then understanding why that's the case. So I kind of feel like if you're writing a book and your favourite authors aren't an influence, you're probably doing something wrong!
For example, some things I've loved from the authors above (and would therefore say are influences / things I aspire to in my own writing): Magician's pure sense of adventure. Wheel of Time's epic scope and world and history. Pendragon Cycle and Song of Albion's use of tragedy to impact and enhance their stories, without slipping into 'grimdark' territory. Name of the Wind's pacing, emotion and humour. Mistborn and Stormlight's concrete magic systems, plot twists and prose that favours imagination over paragraphs of unnecessary description. The fact that no matter how dark or morally complex their plots, each author writes stories with main characters who are variously relatable, likeable, and/or trying to do the right thing - i.e. are people you can root for. And that's just off the top of my head....
So, yeah - the answer's most certainly a 'yes'. Thanks for the question!
When I was a teenager, my favourite authors were probably Raymond Feist, Robert Jordan and Stephen Lawhead. More recently, it'd be Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss.
Do you think that they’ve influenced your writing style and the type of stories that you want to tell?
Definitely. As an author, you’re (hopefully) trying to tell a story that you’d personally want to read - I think the best way to do that is to be aware of what you find most engaging about other stories, and then understanding why that's the case. So I kind of feel like if you're writing a book and your favourite authors aren't an influence, you're probably doing something wrong!
For example, some things I've loved from the authors above (and would therefore say are influences / things I aspire to in my own writing): Magician's pure sense of adventure. Wheel of Time's epic scope and world and history. Pendragon Cycle and Song of Albion's use of tragedy to impact and enhance their stories, without slipping into 'grimdark' territory. Name of the Wind's pacing, emotion and humour. Mistborn and Stormlight's concrete magic systems, plot twists and prose that favours imagination over paragraphs of unnecessary description. The fact that no matter how dark or morally complex their plots, each author writes stories with main characters who are variously relatable, likeable, and/or trying to do the right thing - i.e. are people you can root for. And that's just off the top of my head....
So, yeah - the answer's most certainly a 'yes'. Thanks for the question!
More Answered Questions
Basia
asked
James Islington:
Hi James! My husband and I love The Will of the Many! I’m trying to get him into The Licanius series while we wait for the next book. I’m an illustrator and would love to do some WotM fanart after my deadlines, but while reading, I kept thinking it would make a great graphic novel. Do you have any plans for that? (If yes, I’d love to throw my name in the hat 😄)
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