So this is part two of Books that Impacted Me. You can find part one here.
These books are ones that I have read that have somehow impacted/inspired my writing. I posted three(ish) books in my last blog post and I’m going to attempt to finish out my top “ten” books that impacted my writing, now. I’m a little nervous that I really won’t end up with ten… so let’s see how it goes.
Which Lie Did I Tell? – William Goldman
I read this book while I was working on a couple screenplays after college. I find that “how to” books on screenwriting can be formulaic in nature and it’s just boring to read. I didn’t get that with this one. William talked about his experiences when it came to writing different screenplays and novels. I really loved how he talked about his mistakes as well as his successes. Despite it being a non-fiction book about writing, I feel that it did impact my screenwriting and it made the process of writing and editing my scripts easier.
Twilight Series – Stephenie Meyer
Now, before you go clicking off this page because I wrote that Twilight impacted me… hear me out. When I first read Twilight, I was in high school. I was writing very minimally at the time because school/basketball/life kind of took over. So, after reading Twilight, I started getting back to writing fanfiction because this was the perfect story to write fanfiction for (50 Shades anyone?). I wrote about three different fanfiction stories. One was a role reversal and the others were “what would happen if…” stories.
Let me tell you, writing fanfiction is a great way to get your creative juices flowing because the characters are already set up for you. Also, the world is already set up for you and all you have to do is create a scenario. I had a lot of fun writing fanfiction stories and it definitely helped me improve my writing.
Looking for Alaska – John Green
I discovered this book because of a quote I read somewhere on the interwebs. I didn’t know what I was getting into with this one. I really thought it was going to be about a young boy who fell in love, but it ended up bringing about issues in regards to mental health in teens. I really liked how John Green told this story. Even though the story was about a teenage girl, he told it through the teenage boy’s point of view. She was the main driver of the story, yet we didn’t know everything about her.
This was a great YA novel that centered on grief and mental health. I find that I gravitate towards these kinds of stories a lot and it’s seeped into my writing. I think that it’s great to have conversations about death, grieving, and mental health because it allows people to realize they’re not the only ones going through it. I hope that I can reach everyone with my works like Looking for Alaska has done. Also, I hope my stories can be as quotable as this one.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And other concerns) – Mindy Kaling
Something about this book really motivated me to keep doing what I love: to write. After reading her memoir I was really inspired to continue to follow my dream in becoming a produced writer. There are times where I have felt like giving up and pursuing another career. I was at a tiny crossroads in my life when I started reading this book. After seeing her attempts, failures, and then finally getting that big break, it made me think it could be possible. Mindy never quit. I won’t give up either.
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I realized that lumping all the classic literature books together in the first post was probably a bad idea, because now I’m really having trouble coming up with my final “three” books that impacted/inspired my writing. I keep wanting to refer to one of those books, but I’ve already explained why they impacted me.
I think if we take in count that I put six books in that category so in reality I’ve come up with 12. 😉
So here’s my list all together:
Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson
Trail of Broken Wings – Sejal Badani
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Which Lie Did I Tell? – William Goldman
Twilight Series – Stephenie Meyer
Looking for Alaska – John Green
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? – Mindy Kaling
I hope you guys get the chance to read some of these stories and find it impactful or inspiring.
Thanks for reading!
-Emi
What inspired your writing? What book impacted your life? Tell me in the comments below!!