Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 3, Volume 8 | Page 8

WHO OR WHAT INFLUCENCES
YOUR WRITING STYLE(S)?
F RED R AYWORTH
I
Whether we admit it or not, all of us writers have been influenced by
other writers. Sometimes we are not even aware of those influences
until someone compares us to them.
‘ve talked about writing styles before,
but I’ve never approached it quite this
way. The idea is to give a breakdown of
the amalgam that is what I am as a writer
so that you can see yourself and see how
you fit into your own style.
You’re not me, but I’ll bet you’re not a
clone of one writer. Maybe by stepping
back and looking at all your influences, you
can see who you are and get a clearer pic-
ture of where you’re going. Who knows?
EVERY STORY IS AN ADVENTURE
I’ve said this many times, not only here,
but when talking about any manuscript or
short story I’ve ever written. Everything I
write, no matter the genre, is still an adven-
ture. Period. It may be science fiction, icky
bug, adventure/thriller or fantasy. At least
those are the genres I’ve tackled so far. The
genre doesn’t matter. Every one of them
has been an adventure with the trappings
of the specific genre.
Why?
How about Mark Twain? Clive Cussler?
Those are two of the biggies. They, among
others took me on thrilling adventures—
one from the classical era and one still
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
cranking them out today. Those lifelong in-
fluences embedded that sense of adventure
into everything I write. It’s part of my sto-
rytelling DNA.
B-MOVIE NIRVANA
I still joke that in a good icky bug story
half the characters get eaten, they drop the
f-bomb liberally and there’s lots of sex that
has nothing to do with the plot.
Okay, there really are some B-monster
movies like that, but there are plenty of
outstanding B-movie classics that I just die
for when they show on TV. They’re the ones
that you’d find in the dingy corner of the
horror rack at the now defunct video
stores, usually hidden amongst all the
slasher gore movies that are so popular
with young adults. Yuck!
I’ve been a huge B-move fan since I was
a little kid. My two icky bug novels are in-
spired and in the spirit of the good B-movie
monster movies of the past and (a few)
from the present. The only difference is
that there isn’t any sex that has nothing to
do with the plot!
YEAH, I ROLLED DICE WITH THE BEST
OF THEM
P AGE 3
F ALL 2018