I heard this song a few weeks ago, by Gary Clark Jr. It's pretty good, but I instantly recognized several of his influences: Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Hendrix, to name but a few. It's so obvious, I'm sure Mr. Clark is aware.
Which made me think of writers, and my own writing. Am I influenced, like this guy, by others whose craft I admire?
Dunno...
How about you, fellow writers? Have others ever told you that your writing is like someone else's?
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I am influenced stylistically by anyone I am reading. My writing professor said I would outgrow this but I never have. It is really a problem when I read too many short stories by too many writers. One day I sound like Raymond Carver, the next like someone else. I have to reread my own stories diligently too weed this out.
ReplyDeleteI see it in my earlier short stories: I can tell when I was reading Elmore Leonard, Stephen King, etc. :-) Not so much anymore, thankfully. Maybe it helps that I write novel-length, don't know.
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