No matter what sort of art we create – be it novels, paintings, songs, poems, or sculptures – we all need one thing: inspiration. Sometimes, this can be something as mundane as a weathered statue of a knight along the path to a small castle ruin. But often we turn to those masters who have made a profound impression on us and our lives with their creations.
I’d like to share with you some of the people and works I think have shaped me into the person (author?) I am today. Perhaps not all of them directly influence my writing, but they each have left a notable mark on my life at some point.
Robin Hobb
Oh Robin Hobb! Dare I say your works have effectively traumatized me a bit? Especially the ‘Farseer’ books play havoc on your emotions. I’ve been re-reading them recently and was wondering why the paperbacks kept falling apart. Then I remembered I used to throw them repeatedly against the wall (I know you don’t do that t books! Don’t do that to books, OK?). To me, the Farseer series is one of the greatest love stories that never was. If you read them, you know what I mean 😉. Despite my ill treatment of these works, they remain to me one of the most significant and brilliant pieces of writing.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is the voice of my fascination with Old Gods. Especially his novel ‘American Gods’. There’s one paragraph in which Mr Wednesday reveals his true identity to Shadow Moon. I copied those lines down and put them up on my wall, because they are just so incredibly profound. Nowadays, we get myriad interpretations of the deities that had once been worshipped by millions of people (hello Marvel!), but I always felt that Gaiman just understood. His depiction is always full of respect and reverence for Gods that today, unfortunately, have been reduced to little more than fantasy characters.
Brandon Sanderson
If there ever was a master of magic, it’s Brandon Sanderson. I think he’s one of the best fantasy writers of our time, especially when it comes to elaborate, structured, and logic magic systems. My favourite works of his are the first Mistborn trilogy, and his current behemoth of a series, the Stormlight Archives.
Annie Proulx, Ang Lee & Brokeback Mountain
I harbour a fascination for LGBTQ+ centred stories, because I simply adore good drama. Especially if those stories are set in times where two men or two women could not simply share a kiss on the street. I especially like to explore how their love overcomes the enormous obstacles and prejudices of their time. Brokeback Mountain – both as the short story by Annie Proulx and the movie by Ang Lee – is a masterpiece that far surpasses the simply ‘dramatic love’ trope. Ang Lee is a genius director, and him translating Proulx’s little story into the motion picture is, to me, cinematic perfection. To have an actor of the calibre of Heath Ledger on board is pretty much the cherry on top.
André Aciman, Luca Guadagnino & Call me by your Name
This entry somewhat mirrors the one above, I think. Again, we have been gifted with the combination of brilliant story, brilliant director, brilliant actors. Especially Thimothée Chalamet shines in this picture. I still admire his bravery and dedication to depict an unapologetic, free, and open Elio alongside Army Hammer’s incredible Oliver. Apart from the beautiful, heart-wrenching story, Guadagnino does a tremendous job of capturing the lazy summer days of a tiny, sleepy village in Italy in the 1980s. The play of sunrays, the music, the colours. This film is truly a piece of art and does the book very much justice.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I watched Buffy when I was on the cusps of turning from a girl into a woman. It’s a period in life where you’re very influenceable, where you might still be shaped. I think this TV show did that to me. Buffy showed me what a strong woman can look like – I adored her! I wanted to be her! I fell in love with Spike (yep, sorry, Team Spike here! 😉). Willow made me question my Christian upbringing and I started to read a lot on the history of religion. What I leaned in my research was eye-opening. Until today, Buffy remains, to me, one of the best shows I ever watched (despite the unfortunate reports surrounding Joss Whedon…).
Leonard Cohen
Some teens have an Emo phase – I had a Leonard Cohen phase. Well, I don’t think it ever truly stopped, to be honest. I sometimes joke that my one true love is – and will always remain – Leonard Cohen. I’ve always been bored by superficial love songs. Cohen mixed songs about love and desire with contemplations about religion and just a dash of politics. Never enough to be shoved into the protest singer corner like Dylan or Baez, but his words were still meaningful enough to leave a lasting impression. I even got to see him perform, once. It was an open air concert in the centre of a village, and I arrived at the place way too early. So I decided to pass the time with shopping. I went into a fashion store and from outside, I heard the first snatches of one of his songs. ‘How nice’, I thought, ‘they’re playing his records over the loudspeakers.’ When I emerged from the store, I realised that this was no recording. This was the Master Himself doing a soundcheck. And there was nobody around. So I stood directly in front of the stage and I stared at Cohen like he was my saviour or my lover – and he stared right back at me, smiling. I was so flustered that I fled and only returned once the concert began, but I will never forget these few seconds with Leonard.