Batblog

So Long and Thanks For All the Ideas!

"Good writers borrow, great writers steal."

I don't quite remember where I first heard that, or who it's from (and apparently neither does anyone else, as indicated by a quick Google search), but it's an interesting quote to me all the same. At the very least, it makes it easier for me to not feel so guilty about ripping off my favourite writers all the time. Still, credit should be given where credit is due, so for this particular blog entry I'd like to do just that; single out some of the writers and stories whose influence will undoubtedly be seen most heavily in my own work. You know, to show just how much I appreciate the donations.

-The entire animal fiction genre: I do have a Redwall fanfiction underway, after all. The Guardians of Ga'Hoole inspiration for my Mythryn stories is also bound to be pretty well in evidence. Elements of Watership Down and Silverwing will likely crop up from time to time as well. As I've said in previous blog entries, I was basically raised by stories about talking animals; it's only natural that I'd try to dabble in them myself as a writer.

-Richard K. Morgan: I don't think there's any writer whose influence on my style has been quite as... Pervasive. Not so much in what I write about, but in how I write about it; all the brutal action, sardonic humour, thoughtful commentary, and immediate realism of his stories are things that I desperately want to include in my own writing, even if I don't swear as much and won't be indulging in any sexual themes until I get around to writing about humans (sex scenes with animals would be skeevy, gross, and wrong; no need to worry about me going that route). He has influenced my plots and characters to an extent, of course; for example, once I'm done with The Krimson Traitor, my first original novel is going to be a detective story with a sarcastic first person narration, which was not necessarily intended to mirror Altered Carbon (I wanted to do a story about a talking crow, and a detective story just seemed like the best fit, since crows are such good problem solvers), but I have to concede that the resemblance is uncanny. Even in The Krimson Traitor, the protagonist - Nihil - is almost a PG-13-rated vulpine version of the protagonist of the Land Fit For Heroes books - Ringil - with their cynical attitudes, sword-wielding skills, and curiously similar names. Oh, and getting back to Mythryn, here's the first sentence of the plot synopsis I have written for it in my notes:

It’s said that crows are among the most intelligent of all creatures, but Mythryn – “Ryn” for short – is smart even among crows, with a talent for finding the truth that no bird or beast can match.

Sound familiar at all? If not, then you probably haven't read the plot synopsis of The Steel Remains:

A dark Lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs Ringil Eskiath - Gil, for short - a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose cynicism is surpassed only by the speed of his sword.

Intentional homage? An unconscious accident? I wrote the Mythryn synopsis so long ago that I don't even remember, but either way it's probably not coincidental.

-Fallout: New Vegas: How influental was this game to me? Well, Zero (the protagonist of Free Fox, a sci-fi story I'm planning that I've already talked about about a couple times in this blog) was actually based on one of my Couriers. Well, more based on one my Couriers, which was based on one of my Lone Wanderers from Fallout 3, which was based on the protagonist of this one obscure independent short film call Agent MX-Z3RO (this character has kind of a complicated lineage). But ultimately, it was the witty, duster-wearing, energy weapon-wielding, tyrant-hating courier with the "Confirmed Bachelor" perk that made the cut for Free Fox. Outside of that one character, there'll also be some similarities in how I handle the overall themes of my stories, with different groups and characters all clearly intended to represent different ideas and issues while still (hopefully) being complex enough to conceivably be actual people.

-Digimon: If characters starting out working for a bad guy, but then learning the error of their ways and becoming a hero turns out to be a common character arc in my stories, I think you can safely blame it on my childhood spent obsessing over this show.

-White Fang: All the slashed jugulars and horribly brutalized protagonists that might crop up in my stories probably come from this book. Or maybe also from Richard Morgan. Or both. On a side-note; there's a part of me that wants to wonder why I always see this book filed in the children's section, but then I have to remind myself that there's instances in the Redwall books where characters get their heads mounted on pikes. Children's books can be pretty hardcore.

-Yahtzee Croshaw: Not necessarily as a storyteller, but Yahtzee was a huge influence on me back when I was writing video game reviews for my high school newspaper. The experience I gained on that paper was invaluable to my current writing pursuits, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fruitful without that foul-mouthed Brit to draw inspiration from.

Remember; it's impossible to avoid being derivative in your art, so you might as well just be conscious and honest about who you're deriving from. And, you know, say thank you to the creators you steal from every once in a while. It's the least you can do.