Writers Who Have Influenced and Inspired Me

Hey everyone! So, Tuesday next week me and my family are going to Gatlinburg for a little vacation so there won't be any post up but I will be posting tons of awesome pictures on Instagram of our adventures I'm sure so take a look over there.

Today I want to talk about writers and influences and inspiration all smashed together into one. There are so many writers who have influenced and inspired me in my journey to become a better writer but and there will be more to come. You know when you were a little kid and you looked up to her parents or your big brother or sister and you thought, "Wow, they are amazing. I want to be just like them?" And they've inspired you to become a better person, to do better in school or do better in a hobby or activity? Well that's how I feel about certain writers. They are my role models and to some degree my heroes.

Only gif that could fit this post. Wreck It Ralph all the way!

They're the ones who's blogs I stalk regularly and read every single one of their posts from the time their blog first came up. I head their warnings and soak in their tips and advise, trying them all out to see how they work and if they fit with my personality and writing style. I read through books over and over and study their writing style, their characters, their plots, everything that I love about their books and to some degree I try to do the same as them.

There are only a few authors and books that I do that with though. I don't stalk just any old blog and I don't flip through just any old books. I've come up with a list of the authors that inspire and influence my writing.

• Shannon Messenger: She's at the very top of my list. I've been following her since her very first book came out and have been waiting in anxious anticipation the whole year for the next installation of her series to come out. I can't tell you how many times I have flipped through her books, studying how she introduced her characters, how she molded them and how they interact. If you were to ask me what I think of her as a writer I would say she can do no wrong. To me her writing, her books, her characters are all spot on and perfect and I strive with every book I write to characters and obstacles like hers. If I can do just a fraction of what she does I would be happy for the rest of my life.

• Rick Riordan: Specifically his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. My poor copy of The Lightning Thief is torn at the seems and ripped on the cover in several places. It's a mess, but a mess created from loving fingers flipping through the pages and rereading it over and over again. The rest of my copies aren't in much better shape. Percy Jackson will forever be my first fictional crush and love of my life and like I said with Shannon Messenger if I can achieve just a fraction of what Rick Riordan has done with his incredible characters and books I will be happy for the rest of my days.

• A.G. Howard: She is newer and came into my life maybe a year or two ago? Her Splintered series is probably one of my favorite series of all time. I could gush about her books for hours on end and still have more to say. Morpheus? I have been trying to create a character as complex and dark as him but I just can't! And Alyssa? She's got to be one of the best main characters ever! I honestly can't wait to read A.G. Howard's Phantom of the Opera retelling that comes out this year. It's going to be just as dark and beautiful as the Splintered series.

Me freaking out about A.G. Howard's new book!

• Marissa Meyer: I love Marissa Meyer and I love her books. And now I am hesitant to say this but to me her books are a one time read. Maybe except for Scarlet and Cinder. Those are my two favorites of the series. She has got to be one of the best writers. Her series and plot is so intricate and complex with all of these different dots connecting in different ways. Her characters are wonderfully unique from one another with personalities that clash and fit and how she gets all of them in the same room together by the end? I have no idea how she did it. I did stalk her blog after I read Winter and read every piece of advise she had on writing and editing and revising and pretty much everything in general. I can't wait for Heartless, her Wonderland retelling.

• Melissa Landers: Now I don't know her as well as the other authors but I know her books and I know that I love them. She only has three out right now so I'm not as familiar with her work as the others but her Alienated series is fantastic and Starflight her newest book? I read it in like two days and had a book hangover for a week afterwards. I flipped through that Starflight several times after reading it, studying the characters and the plot and how she introduces different elements and such and got into a writing rut when all I could think about was writing sci-fi just like hers. She is definitely influential and will continue to be influential in the future.

• Ingrid Law: There are so many other authors but I'm going to end with Ingrid Law. I've known her books for a very long time. She takes a year or two to finish her books and yet they are completely worth the wait. Her Savvy trilogy has inspired for years, since I was thirteen I think it was that I found her book. Her characters are great and quirky and she does a marvelous job with coming of age stories. There's real life in her books with real life problems but also with a hint of magic. They're beautifully written and my copy of Savvy is falling apart from the love that I give it.

Like I said there are so many more authors that have inspired me and made me strive to be better in my writing over the years but those are the big ones. The ones that I look to for inspiration and help whenever I feel stuck. Everyone needs role models to look up to and these authors are sort of like my elders of writing. I go to their blogs and check on their newest posts, I buy pretty much every one of their new books and do everything else short of meeting them. Shannon Messenger, Rick Riordan and A.G. Howard especially changed the way I write, change me with their books in general and I can't thank them enough for the fictional friends they've given me for all time.

So, in other words this entire post is pretty much screaming, GO LOOK THEM UP AND READ THEIR STUFF RIGHT NOW!! But it's okay if you don't (but really check them out cuz they're great). I hope you all had a great Easter and have a great rest of our week. Make sure to check out my Instagram page -- you can find the link on the home page of my blog -- for some pictures next week of my Gatlinburg adventure.

Who has inspired you over the years to write? Are there certain books or authors that you look to for writerly advise and wisdom?