Support for Indie Authors discussion

Anybody ever watch/read something and think "damn, wish I wrote that"
For me it's The 100 by Kass Morgan.

The 100 by Kass Morgan

Making Monsters by Joe Turk
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale

"Fifty Shades of Grey" and "Twilight". Because I'd be set for life.

But probably not what you meant. :)

@DM that's hilarious
I think I be doing pretty well with The 100 also.

I meant pretty well....my brain is going faster than my hands

I often watch films and read books that approach the story in a novel manner (that with hindsight is so obvious) or adopt an unusual writing style. Then I find myself wondering could I have written that? Frequently I have to admit that it is "off my radar!" Perhaps I could now copy the style or approach, but could I have invented it myself?

Another thing that I sometimes wonder when watching some scenes on film where the cinematography is outstanding: "Could I describe that in words, so that the awesome view is conveyed?"

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Her imagination is inspiring.

For me "Lord of the Rings" and "Lord of the Flies."

@ Anthony I never thought of it from the cinematography stand point. That's going to stick with me and I'll start to wonder that also.
For me it's a envious admiration for the author, with it being a bit heavy on the envy side.

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's a fantasy masterclass and I never tire of reading and re-reading it

@Jane I never heard of that author or series..I'm definitely going to look it up

Carol wrote: "@Jane I never heard of that author or series..I'm definitely going to look it up"

If fantasy is your bag he should float your boat

The Handmaid's Tale. I've read it countless times; I never get bored and always notice something new. In fact, most of Margaret Atwood's back catalogue. Ditto Sarah Waters.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
The Harry Potter series.
Tamsin by Peter S Beagle
The Hunger Games

On the bright side I feel very glad that I did not write Twilight. Even Stephenie Meyer doesn't like Twilight any more.

The Last Unicorn - my gosh I was so insanely jealous of Peter S. Beagle's writing style (I managed to work it down to only mildly jealous).
Harry Potter
Darklord of Derkholme
Dr. Who

Hopefully, there will come a time in our writing career in which we'll look at something we wrote and published, smile smugly, and think "I wrote that."

@Melissa I live for that day!!!!!

Not that I can recall. For me, it's more like - the stuff I wish I'd written hasn't been written, yet. So, I write it.

For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that way? Do you wish you had the talent of a particular author? If so, maybe you do and you don't give yourself enough credit. Do you wish you had the skill? If you don't, it can be learned. Money? Hee hee hee... well, two out of three ain't bad, right?

I wonder if I asked Salinger the same question, what would he say?

Tim wrote: "Not sure you can learn to write like Dylan Thomas ..."

Possibly not. But, why would anyone aspire to write like another? Write as well, yes. I think that's possible.

Dwayne wrote: "Not that I can recall. For me, it's more like - the stuff I wish I'd written hasn't been written, yet. So, I write it.

For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that wa..."

They're just cool ideas that seemed like a lot of fun to write. Although knowing me I would've ended up making Harry a were-dragon or something.

Does it count for indies' work too or just trad? Because honestly, when I read Christina's books, I found myself thinking each time, "What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

For traditional books, I never really thought about it because well...I haven't read many trads after I started writing myself, and I would never have thought about writing such stories back in those days.

I remember thinking how clever Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman were in their stories, but not wishing I would have written it.

I'm with C. I've often thought, what a great idea J.K. had - wish I'd had it. Then I realize - if I'd had that idea, I would not have written such great books. She did a masterful job. And while I don't write that genre, I'd like to pen a novel as well done.

the book I always wish I'd written first is China Mieville's The Scar. I mean, seriously- an entire city made of lashed-together boats, cactus-people, mosquito-people, a lost empire that mines pure probability, nightmarish deep-sea viperfish people? All of that sounds exactly like something I would write. But Mieville beat me to it. *grumble grumble*

Dwayne wrote:

For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that wa..."

I think it's just admiration of something truly magnificent. And maybe I could make something else that magnificent, MAYBE, if I am very lucky, but I couldn't have written that particular magnificent thing.

For mine -

Eleanor & Park:

Because she captures true love so sweetly and perfectly, and because the characters are so sympathetic and believable, and it is just so unlike anything else I have ever read.

Harry Potter - What James said. Only JK Rowling could have written that. But the world building is so charming, and the plot is so layered with meaning, and there is so much symbolism while maintaining humor and three dimensional characters that it is truly admirable.

Tamsin - Because Peter S Beagle somehow managed to create an incredibly modern character and start out in New York, and then merge the whole thing flawlessly with British folk tale and history. It is eminently believable, heartwarming, and magical, and utterly unique.

The Hunger Games - Because the main character is such a badass while being completely vulnerable, and because I'm in love with Peeta.

Ultimately, I think the big thing they have in common is that they STICK. They have characters and imagery and stories that you carry around with you afterward.

And that's my dream.

So, yeah. I wish I wrote that.

@C Well put, to me this post was about the fun no deeper thought than that. I think we've all seen something on TV and thought "man wish I thought of that." Same thing for this post.

Re: Atwood: Admiration of her marvellous writing, plots and characterisation. Her fiction manages to be both literary and immensely readable. I'm not as keen on her recent books - they're more formulaic and move away from what makes her so special (terrific female characters and a marked feminist slant).

Re: Waters: Bringing gay characters into period dramas and - most crucially - into the mainstream. Very few people would have openly read an LGBT book before she became popular. It's a great achievement and testimony to the quality of her work - rather than a knee jerk, "I'd never read a gay book," people enjoy them as good stories well told.

As a kid I wished I'd written the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder because I wished I lived in a little house on the prairie

I wish I had written or was a writer for Doctor Who

'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles' by Haruki Murakami, or almost anything by Mario Vargas Llosa

Carol wrote: "@C Well put, to me this post was about the fun no deeper thought than that. I think we've all seen something on TV and thought "man wish I thought of that." Same thing for this post."

Same here, but Dwayne made me think about it! *shakes fist jokingly*

C. wrote: "Same here, but Dwayne made me think about it! *shakes fist jokingly* "

That's how we do it in the fun folder. Topics go all over the place. This one, so far, has stayed pretty tame.

One of my favorite quotes is from the scifi series, "Twelve Monkies". In it, Jennifer Goins, who is a certifiably looney character, makes the statement:
"You have no idea how hard it is being crazy."

Harry Potter. Hehe.

When I was younger I thought of a concept about animals banning together and making coordinated attacks on humans.

I found out just recently that James Patterson wrote a book called Zoo and it is now a show that I can watch on Netflix. It's a great show, but it still hurts to watch.

C.L. wrote: "Dwayne wrote:

For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that wa..."

I think it's just admiration of something truly magnificent. And maybe I could make something else t..."

C.L. wrote: "Dwayne wrote:

What a brilliant post!. What lovely observations. I love the idea that the key to interesting writing is 'Stickability' of the main subject matter. But I suppose its obvious, I just had never considered it. Thank you for your observations. They have been most helpful.

For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that wa..."

I think it's just admiration of something truly magnificent. And maybe I could make something else t..."
What a brilliant post!

Dwayne wrote: ....
For those who "wish you'd written that", I am wondering why you feel that wa..."

Nearly every time I read something by Stephen King... whether it's old stuff, new stuff, shorts, or novels.. I find myself thinking "Man, oh man, I wish I could write like that". And not just at the end, but throughout the story.
So, no.. it's not that I wish I'd written that story, but that I could write like that.
I disagree that all skills can be learned. Yes, I'm a better writer than when I began. And (arrogance warning) yes, I am a better writer than some who are out there. And money has nothing to do with it.

Laurie high five and I wish there a like button

I wish I had written The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I wish I could create something that imaginative and that funny.

Carol wrote: "Laurie high five and I wish there a like button"

ditto - 'like'
I'm always amazed how easy Mr King makes his prose sound. Just as though he was talking to somebody. I'm less found of his endings, though

The Dresden Files - seems so obvious now, I just wish I'd gotten to it before Butcher did.

The Amber Chronicles - seems like an awesome world to play in.

Doctor Who - see above.

When it comes to stealing lines, I've always liked this from Harry Dresden: "Bad things kept happening to me. It was high fucking time I started happening to them."

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - I love to make people laugh, but to sooooo hard to be funny with the written word. Douglas Adams was a master!

My favorite written book of all time is Lolita, so I've always thought what it would be like to have written the book; I feel like a quarter of the people I know (the good quarter) would think I was a genius, one quarter would think I was a creep, and the remaining half would think both.

Shogun by James Clavell. Love that book. It had it all, politics, war, religion, culture clash, adventure, and romance. Epic story of medieval Japan colliding with European landing in their country.

A particularly vivid memory of one such instance: In film, Dogma by Kevin Smith. I remember sitting in the movie theater and processing how perfectly he was capturing my own thoughts and emotions through character dialogue. To this day, I can still remember the onslaught of emotions while I sat there enthralled. Sheer enjoyment of a well delivered message and comedic dialogue. Irritation that someone had beaten me to the punch, and was doing a better job saying something I really wanted to say than I was capable of. And, at the end of the day, the hopefulness of youth that I could someday write something that smart.

Carole wrote: "Shogun by James Clavell. Love that book. It had it all, politics, war, religion, culture clash, adventure, and romance. Epic story of medieval Japan colliding with European landing in their country."

Absolutely a great book!

More Than This, and The Knife of Never Letting Go, both by Patrick Ness.
She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick.
Pure by Julianna Baggott

Another one I wished I'd thought of first is The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R Carey. I also thought at the time I read it that it ought to be made into a film, and it was. A really good, and very disturbing one too.