It’s National Book Month! What Are the Books that “Made” You as a Writer?
Right now I’m re-reading one of my favorite books ever: The Game of Kings, the first book in Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. It’s the story of a young former nobleman, now outlaw, and his quest to clear his name of treason in 16th-century Scotland. That’s the short version. The story is actually incredibly dense and complex and packed with action, political intrigue, a hint of romance, family struggles… not to mention characters who you feel you’re actually in the room with, so vividly drawn are they, no matter whether they are a nearly-deaf goldsmith or a Scottish lord trying to balance a new wife, a treacherous brother, and the invading English.
It’s gotten me thinking about why I love it so much (and the whole series), and I’m going to write an article on lessons writers can learn from it - whether or not you write (or aspire to write) in Dunnett’s style. When you, as a writer yourself, fall in love with a book, you are driven to try to figure out how the author creates her magic. It can give you tremendous insight into what makes you tick as a writer. What are you drawn to? How have the books you love influenced your voice, your style, the stories you tell?
This week, write down at least ten of your favorite books of all time. Then think about why you love them. Don’t just list books you’ve enjoyed as an adult. Reach back into childhood and think about the books that influenced you, that made you want to become a writer.
As an example, mine are, in the approximate order I encountered them:
Nancy Drew - not just one book, but in general, I loved them, and wanted to be Nancy Drew. I loved following the clues and wondering how she would solve the mystery. It was my first experience of being drawn through a book in a compelling way.
The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit - This was what introduced me to high fantasy and amazing new worlds complete with fully-realized languages and cultures, and of course, heroic archetypes. My first experience of being full immersed in a writer’s world.
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis. Like so many before me, I wanted to go through a wardrobe and become a Queen of a fantastic place. The allegory was a little heavy-handed for my taste even back then, but it opened the door to a host of other fantasy books that were more influential on my imagination: the Pern novels of Anne McCaffery, the Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin… all the way to Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief (and the rest of the trilogy) which didn’t come along until later but loved for the storytelling and that awesome twist...
The Dark is Rising (and Susan Cooper’s other books set in that Arthurian magic-meets-contemporary world). I loved the mix of myth and magic and history, and how it could rise up and be part of our ordinary contemporary world. Plus, those ravens were creepy as all get-out. Just the right amount of thrills and scares for me in middle-grade.
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott. What girl wouldn’t want to be part of the March family? And don’t most girls who want to be writers identify with Jo, scribbling away in her garrett?
Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell. Sigh. Yes, even at a young age I found the depictions of the slave characters cringy, but I was mainly interested in the idea of wearing pretty dresses and having lots of “beaux” after me (hey, I was 11). From a writing perspective, it was all about the anti-heroine, Scarlett O’Hara, who is not at all a nice person and yet the reader ends up rooting for her right to the end. She’s a total 180 from the March sisters, and a much more complex (and arguably, satisfying) character.
The Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett. Swoon. The adventures of the formerly-mentioned 16th-century outlaw (or is he…?). Each book is a masterclass in the use of language, development of character, action set-pieces, integrating historical detail into complex narrative, and making the reader feel all the emotions.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. I’ve always said that if I could publish just one book, I would want it to have the impact this has had, showing us the strangeness and evils of the world through the eyes of a child, and always making it clear to the reader what is happening without leaving the child’s perspective.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams. For glorious language play, sheer inventiveness, and outrageous humor, this book and the subsequent ones in the series can’t be beat.
Cosmicomics - Italo Calvino. More sophisticated language play, inventiveness, and humor than the Hitchhiker’s Guide, this surreal and hard-to-categorize book is wildly original and shows what a great writer can do with language and imagination - sly charm mixed with razor-sharp social commentary.
When you’re done, look at what they have in common. What grabbed you as a reader? Note they don’t have to be shining examples of great literature. I can’t read Nancy Drew or Gone With the Wind as an adult. But man, I had periods in my life when I ate, slept, and breathed them. And looking back over the books that surprised and delighted me connects me back to my WHY of being a writer, and makes me think of how I might create those experiences for my readers.
