I've known that I wanted to write since I was pretty young... the current Work In Progress I have going I started in high school and it was heavily influenced by two works I had experienced at a young age.
When I was a child, my father used to read to me in the evenings... looking back, I realize that didn't last as long as I would have liked... but before evening reading time disappeared, he made it through The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Between LOTR and Narnia, I think that Narnia had a deeper impact on me... I'm not sure if it was the length of the Chronicles being more accessible at the young age I was first exposed to them... or if it was the character of Aslan, so powerful and reliable (if not "safe")... probably it was the fact that the main characters were children who were sucked into a world beyond their imagining... I always wanted that to happen to me. I would open closets, look under rocks, spend hours wishing to disappear into Narnia and become a queen, ride in a hunt, wield sword or aim a bow...
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| drawing by Kate "Silverfish" Jennings |
I would love to tell you that LOTR and the incredible J.R.R. Tolkein were entirely responsible for my creative bug... I have such high esteem for Tolkein and his amazing world of fantasy. It is, I believe, physically impossible to plumb the depths of the world Tolkein created and find the bottom. I think if the movies had come out when I was still young and impressionable, that would have sealed my fate. But, if Tolkein was going to be trumped by anyone for the place of chief imaginative spark in my life, it could not be anyone better than C.S. Lewis.
Both these authors had a significant impact on the way I conceptualize my fantasy worlds (I'll NEVER write as well, but... hey! A girl's gotta dream!). If you've never read any of the Chronicles, I suggest you give them a try. If you can overlook the heavy allegorical imagery, you're in for a real treat... if you can appreciate the allegory, you're in for double :).
Hmmm... may be time for a re-read... but for now, off to create!
I love Lewis and Tolkien. I completely understand the spark they can cause :)
ReplyDeleteYou know I love me some LotR. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey, how was Game of Thrones? I'm tempted to watch the HBO series because of Sean Bean, but curious if the book was good.
Those were the same two series that sealed my fate as a writer, too! I've re-read them both so, so, so many times. It's hard to express how much they mean to me.
ReplyDeleteI always admired how LONG these men worked on their stories in order to perfect them. Thanks for sharing such a tender memory about your dad reading their stories to you.
ReplyDeleteAnd Aslan=LOVE.
Seriously, those paragraphs where Lucy gets to romp around with him and touch his mane and all that jazz...gets me so jealous.