In a recent post, Moriah Richard continues Writer’s Digest‘s series of articles on what not to do. This time, they recommend that beginning writers look past the classics for inspiration.
“If you would have asked me as a high schooler what writers I wanted to be like, I might have said Steinbeck or Salinger,” Richard says. “I equated my English teacher’s respect for them with success—after all, aren’t they the authors of the Greatest American Novels?”
However, it turns out this is a narrow definition of good writing. The “classics” almost never include mystery, fantasy, or science fiction novels. When they do include them – Slaughterhouse Five, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, On the Beach, Brave New World – these classics are rarely acknowledged as genre works, but instead are given cover as political literature.
Richard advises writers to build their own personal canon of what constitutes good writing. Her horror canon includes Octavia Butler’s Fledgling and the Creepshow tv show, but not Dracula. She suggests creating your own, starting with the genre you like to write. “Think about the books in that genre that were really hard to put down—what sucked you in?” she writes. “Was it the world-building, the surprise twist at the end, the character development? Is there something about those books that you’d like to translate in your work, even if it’s just the way reading it made you feel?”
But you also should expand your personal canon. What kind of books did your schooling omit? What books outside your genre might give you the same thrill you get from fantasy or horror? Richard suggests following your favorite authors on social media and trying some of their suggestions. You can also check out book blogs and podcasts for recommendations. Above all, keep an open mind about the “classics.” You might be inspired by Shakespeare or Hemingway, and that’s great. But you can and should find your own personal favorites.
