vren55's Favorite Non-pony books (with notes on what they still teach him and how they influenced him) · 6:44am Apr 29th, 2017
So... for those interested in knowing some of the concrete literary books I've read to help me write better and that help me worldbuild and how to write, I'm going to run down some of my favorite fiction and non-fiction books that have really influenced my writing and what they can teach people in general.
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Redwall was really what got me into chapter books and by extension, writing and writing my own fanfiction. The series follows the lives, adventures and battles fought by anthropormorphic (human-like) animals protecting or interacting with an Abbey in a British-isles-ish forest.
While not perfect, and I've grown rather aware of that as time has gone on, the Redwall series taught me several things that are key to a good story:
1. The importance of good worldbuilding and detailed exposition. Say what you will about Brian Jacques's wordy style, but the man knew how to build a world one could get uber-invested in. He made sure those details were there that people could see and find comparisons to.
2. Motivated, well-rounded characters. There's a reason one can mostly keep the many castmembers of the various Redwall entries separate. Some characters may have been extremely eye-roll worthy and were essentially Mary Sues, but Jacques knew how to make sure each of them was different from the other and he did that through making sure each had a goal they wanted to achieve.
Furthermore, Redwall really got me interested in fantasy and writing battle sequences, something which I still enjoy today, as well as introduced me to the concept of flashbacks. In fact, the more I look at it, a lot of the writing techniques I use in my work find their roots in Redwall.
But as I grew older, I obviously started to read other books. This was about when I encountered Harry Potter, Eragon, and the Warriors series. They did have an effect on me, but maybe not for the right reasons.
Diverging off of the "good stuff that helped me" Eragon taught me not to drag things out too much. As extensive as the books were in worldbuilding, they were just too bloody long and with too many side-plots. It did introduce me to the realization that not all good guys want to help each other, but it's not one of my favorites for mannnyyyy reasons.
Harry Potter I liked and admired greatly, and I still do... but I wouldn't say it influenced my style significantly because it didn't really have a lot to do with what I was interested in writing.
The Warriors series, which follows clans of cats in the wilderness, which i have referenced in Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen, was also a series I read when growing up, taught me not to make a good thing drag out too long again, and that drama has a limit. I've enjoyed the first series, but by the second's end, I got fed up and increasingly disappointed with how the authors treated the old main cast.
Which brings me to one of the "good" series I've read.... well, number of series.
The "Tortall" universe by Tamora Pierce (The Lioness and Immortals quartets in particular)
Say what you will about Tamora Pierce's cliches, her repetitiveness in using female characters, I still see her books as one of the best examples of how to build characters and relationships within a fantasy setting, without going into Lord of the Rings length of exposition.
The Lioness Quartet, a VERY old series now, focuses on how Alanna, a noble lady, hides her sex, and becomes a knight of a fantasy realm. While I groaned at points, it demonstrated how often a few carefully picked scenes and plotpoints can cover the life and adventures of the main character.
If the Lioness Quartet demonstrated to me how to cover the life of a person or to select points of view, then the "Immortals Quartet" informed me that you can write a magic system that actually is kinda fun and makes sense. It followed the journey of a mage... a "wild" mage who could shapeshift, talk to animals and do a lot of whacky things most normal conceptions of typical magic don't follow.
In summary, the two series represents two lessons that writers (including myself) really need to take note of:
1. Less is more. Granted, I still have difficulty in this, but they told me that selection is absolutely critical in storytelling. You need to choose the right scenes to tell the story, not just ram down everything.
2. Make sure your protagonist is interesting, as in she or he, has a journey that can be followed by the audience, and is relatable. They have to change, or at least the audience must be invested in what the protagonist comes up against.
We then move on to the final series that represents the writer I want to become
"The Old Kingdom" series by Garth Nix
I can gush about Garth NIx all day and he is and will continue to be referenced in my fanfiction because his work is awesome.
IN particular, the first three books of "The Old Kingdom" series represent a masterpiece of original writing that I can only dream of matching.
Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen, the first three books of the series, essentially follow a family of necromancers called the Abhorsens, who serve a magic-filled northern kingdom, that's divided from a magic-less, but modern late 19th century country. They fight to keep the dead down and to stop other necromancers from raising more dead, whilst trying to stay alive. Not only is the magic system of the books unique even among today's fantasy literature, these three books are a master class in descriptive writing.
Because if there one thing that Garth Nix has taught me and you should take away from him, it's:
1. Atmosphere. It's SUPER important when setting a scene. I don't know HOW he does it and I want to learn because he's able to inject a certain tone... creepiness... into his horrifying scenes that while not makes the skin boil, just oozes darkness and tension.
2. Foreshadowing. Which also helps to create atmosphere and readability. Nix often employs tons of symbolic foreshadowing through his books, making every read through a treat, and also putting the reader on edge because they never know if they are being foreshadowed.
Anyway, that's all for now folks. Hope you found this informative. If you have any questions. There is a Discord server that I visit and you can chat to me at :D
https://discord.gg/SDWaFjp
vren55
Been a fan of Redwall since High-School (even made a website and the like. Did you know there was a couple seasons of a animated series?)
Read Eragon and Harry Potter
Never heard of Warriors outside of oddball references here on the site
Never heard of Pierce
Only have seen ONE story reference this Abhorsen character (it needs updates...seriously it needs some... I'm looking at you Merlos)
Oh I loved Redwall, read Harry Potter and Warriors too. I only really enjoyed a series of books usually and it was very hard to find good ones. Also got to read:
The Last Apprentice up till Night of the Soul Stealer
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The May Bird series
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The Keys to the Kingdom series
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The Enders Game series
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And the House of the Scorpion book
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I had completely forgotten I'd read the May Bird and The Keys to the Kingdom series until just now thanks for jogging my memory those were fun times.
I've heard of Redwall but never read it, and probably won't now, read Harry Potter, sad to say didn't get into the Lioness Quartet though I wanted to, never heard of The Old Kingdom series.
Discworld rather than Harry Potter got me into reading full length novels, the Honorverse by David Weber got me into science fiction books, and the current series I'm reading the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson shows me what what research can do to improve on a series.
I havent read Redwall in almost two decades. At the time I was two or three books from completing the entire series. I still have all the books in storage too. I loved the books, the animated series is something im going to be looking for soon.
Ive read most of Eragon, and yes it drags. Not bad but not great. I will not be finishing the series.
I only read Harry Potter for two reasons, the wife was fangirling so hard over it, that it consumed several years of her life. And the calls to ban the book. Which after reading I coudnt figure out what would call for such an extreme reaction. It's not a bad book series, yet it has so many problems.
You want a book series that I could understand be called on to be banned, the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey. I own the entire series. Well what was published up till the last decade or so. It's an amazing series. She is one of my favorite authors. I own many, many of her books.
Anne McCaffrey is another favorite, especially the Pern series.
And the last author I will mention is Larry Niven. Some of the best hard SF i've ever read.
Never heard of the other books you mention.
There are a handful of other authors I enjoy. The sad thing is, I havent picked up let alone bought a book by any of them, or anyone else in over a decade. I think. I have been reading fanfiction for the last couple years pretty much exclusively. There is so much talent here on Fimfiction and so much to read.
Heeeeeeeey, I remember Brian Jacques. Godspeed you dead bastard.