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RE: Tell a Story To Me Contest Entry: Fenrir Awakes
"Legs!" love it.
Quick question I think you have mentioned Vonnegut before but I'm curious who you would say is your biggest influence in writing styles?
Biggest? Hmmm, I don't know. Vonnegut is certainly up there. I'd say there are a lot of writers who have influenced me over the years. Philip K. Dick. Robert Heinlein. Douglas Adams. Neil Gaiman. Edgar Allan Poe. Mike Resnick. Dr Seuss. Just to name a few.
Love that Dr. Seuss is in that list.
P.K Dick blows my mind in every book (Ubik wft), Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land make my top 30 books, The long dark tea time of the soul is underrated, and the only Gaiman I have read is the awesome Good Omens with Sir Terry Pratchet.
given the quality of authors you list I think I'm goind to have to have a look at Mike Resnick.
Stranger in a Strange Land was a huge influence on me early on. Heinlein knew better than anyone how to turn fiction into social commentary. And he always came up with the most interesting characters. Plus, he coined the term "speculative fiction," I believe.
Neil Gaiman started as a graphic novelist. Check out The Sandman if you're into comic books. American Gods is good, but meandering. I could say, it was good because it was meandering. A weird story, and I'm still not quite sure what it means. There are scenes that I wonder what the purpose of them are and how they fit into the story, but the characters are unbelievable. Gaiman can make you appreciate weird.
Another one I forgot to mention is Michael Moorcock. Elric is one of my all-time favorite characters, and Stormbringer is my favorite sword. You could say another one of my all-time favorite characters, for truly, it is a character, with its own personality. Moorcock wrote a masterpiece in that saga.
Resnick seems like an ordinary sci-fi writer, but he's one of the most recognized and awarded on the planet. I think he's won more awards for his writing than any other science fiction writer. His books are usually typical sci-fi stories with odd characters, and full of humor. I used to read everything he put down.