OMP Book Club

The Power of Influence

March 2019 - Discussion Topic of the Month

By Fairytale_Fabler

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In order to have influence, you have to be influenced.

~Stephen R. Covey, Author

~~~

Writers don't create inside a bubble. We work hard, play hard, travel, and interact with those we like . . . and those we don't. And we read, often, and hopefully we read between the lines on a regular basis.

With that in mind, I will present March's discussion topic. . . .

1) I want to talk about influences, a specific one, actually. What was the last book you read (or last book that you remember) before you put that pen to page (or first word on screen)? What did you like about it? What was lacking? What did you think that you could do better? Were you reading to write, or was it purely a recreational or educational endeavor?

1a) If you can't remember, feel free to discuss any of your other influences.

2) When did you become your own best influence? In other words, during what story/chapter/moment did you first say, "Wow, this is actually pretty good!" And what happened next? Were you right? Did you keep up the momentum and give readers many more moments like that through to the end?

Feel free to brag. This is a judgement-free zone. 

For me. . .

1) Before I began writing, I binge-read things like the Harry Potter series, The Handmaid's Tale, romance novels from PG to steamy and everything in between, and a bunch of classics (a big shout out to Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters) during maternity leaves and employment hiatuses. But THE LAST book I read before starting my first novel was Gregory Maguire's Wicked.

I love theater, especially Broadway musicals, and I was familiar with the score (though I hadn't yet seen the show) and its Wizard of Oz association. And I was almost ready to start writing the dark fairy tale idea I had that wouldn't quite leave me in peace. But I was procrastinating and lacked the experience, and, well, the confidence to take that leap without just a bit more "research."

Wicked, at first glance in the bookstore, seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. It took a well-known, culturally engrained concept and sort of bent it out of shape, presenting it at an unexpected angle. It wasn't for kids, Maguire supposedly turned "Oz" into something that was truly his own, and "good" and "evil" weren't quite so cut and dry.

Perfect, right?