Top Books That Influenced My Writing

 

Top Books That Influenced My Writing 

I love stories. 

From a young age, my head has been full of stories fluttering around and wanting to take shape. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I really started to thread those story threads together to make a tapestry of words—a novel. I haven’t wanted to stop writing since. 

But what are the books that made me want to be a writer? What are the books I go to for story advice? What are the books that shaped me as a writer? 

This is exactly what we are discussing today! 

Hello! 

Hello friend! Welcome back to the Faith, Writing and Coffee Chats Podcast! My name is Moriyah and I am a Christian, writer, book and coffee lover! Today I have with me a vanilla latte! I hope you too have a good coffee or drink with you! 

Today is a really fun topic! I will be sharing with you the top two book series that influenced my writing! 

Last year, I did a blog post talking about the one book that has most influenced my writing which is the Bible. That one will forever be the one that most influences my writing. It is so important to me. It is my faith, my life. The Bible is also how I learned to read. God gave me the gift of reading and writing and I’m so thankful for that. The first book I ever wrote was also a story inspired by a bible story so everything, all my writing goes back to this one book. 

• Link to post: https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-most-important-story-that-has-influenced-my-writing.html 

Today, I thought it would be fun to do a sort of follow up to that post where I dive into the other books that have influenced my writing and who have been inspirations to me as a writer. 

Now, there are so many inspiring books and authors and I would love to do a podcast or post all about that but for now I want to keep it small. Really, when I think of it, there are two specific series that have most influenced my writing. These are the stories that I love that I go back to again and again. These are the books that shaped my childhood and really set off my imagination to start writing. 

They may not be what you expect. 

These are some of my favorite stories and they are both children's books. 

So grab a cup of coffee friends and let me share the top two book series that have most influenced my writing. 

The Importance of Story Time as a Child

As a kid, I’d say that one of the most important things for me growing up was story time (or read aloud time). This was so special to me as a kid. 

I was homeschooled for all my school years from beginning kindergarten all the way to graduating high school. In those years, one of my favorite subjects and times of the day was story time. 

As a kid, we would make tea in our little floral tea cups and sit down together. My mom would read aloud stories to us. Stories of family, bravery, animals, far away lands, magic creatures, faith and more. Those stories planted seeds inside me to later want to write stories of my own. 

Children's stories are my favorite. Those have always been my comfort reads. When I need comfort or have been out of reading and want to start again, children's stories have always been my go to pick. 

Fairytales have also been among my favorites. I have always loved reading fairy tales since I was little, flipping through picture books, seeing these worlds come to life. Rapunzel in her tower, the star girl collecting treasure, Cinderella’s kindness, beauty looking beyond appearances and looking to the heart. Fairytales always seem to find a way into my writing and will always be favorites. 

It’s fitting that the first series I want to talk about is like a fairytale. 

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis 

Specifically we are talking about the first 5 books: 

• The Magician's Nephew 

• The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe | https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-lion-witch-and-wardrobe-by-cslewis.html 

• The Horse and His Boy

• Prince Caspian | https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4898922936 

• The Voyage on the Dawn Treader | https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4898922824 

Of all the books, this is my FAVORITE series probably of all time even now. I grew up reading and being read these stories. I fell in love with the world and wonder of Narnia. I love Aslan, the mighty Lion, and all he represents and the themes of Christianity woven into this story. 

This truly is the series that made me want to be a writer though I didn’t actually think I would become a writer until years after reading these books. 

This book is why the first book I wrote was fantasy and I am also working on ideas for a new fantasy novel right now. I learned about how to write fantasy worlds and creatures and magic and pacing and just general world building from this series. Also, I love that it’s a sibling adventure for most of the books. I love love stories about siblings! I'm always drawn to those ones. It’s special to me being the oldest of 6 kids. 

This book will forever hold a special place in my heart. 

C.S. Lewis is the kind of writer I aspire to be like. I love that he is a Christian writer and you can see how influenced he was by the Bible. I love how he writes for all ages. He wrote his children series (The Chronicles of Narnia), his more young adult trilogy (Out of The Silent Planet), and adult fiction (my favorite is The Screwtape Letters) and nonfiction novels. I love his range and it’s the kind of thing I dream to be able to do. 

Also, there is this book called “C.S. Lewis on Writing (and Other Writers)” that has so much wonderful writing advice in little bite sized pieces! I highly recommend that book if you are a writer! 

Lewis and his books have been very helpful and inspiring to my own writing and for that I’m very thankful! 

Now let’s go to the next book! 

The Little House Books by Laura Ingles Wilder 

(Or it’s also called “The Little House on the Prairie books”) 

I love these books! 

This is the other big series my mom would read to us when I was a kid. I’ve laughed and cried because of this story. It’s been an inspiration to me in my personal life and in my writing life. 

These books are what made me write contemporary fiction. Why? Because I was so inspired by Laura and how she wrote stories about her own life. I loved the idea for me of taking real moments and things that have happened in my own life and turning them into stories. That’s my whole contemporary series that I’ve been writing. I give a lot of credit to this series for inspiring me. I love the simple writing and how that can paint such a vivid picture in my mind. 

I love stories that feel real or are inspired by true events and people and I wanted to in a small way reflect that in my stories. There is always something in my writing that connects back to my story and things God has changed or done in my heart. 

I always go back to this series when thinking of writing a new contemporary book. I know the time periods are vastly different (this being set in the 1870s-1890s and me being now) but it’s the heart of the story that continues to bring me back again and again! 

That’s the big thing, I think, with both these books. It’s the heart of the story that brings me back again and again. It’s that heart of the story that inspires me to write. It’s the heart of the story that is what I hope to reflect and accomplish in my writing. I hope my stories can have a strong heart that touches people’s hearts and makes them remember the story for years to come. I hope my stories, like these, can also be a reflection of God and can show Him and point people to Him in its pages. That is my hope. 

Conclusion 

The Little House books along with The Chronicles of Narnia have always been my favorite children's stories and series since I was a kid and I know I will love them for years to come! 

Let me know what book or books have most influenced your writing if you are a writer or life if you aren’t! I’d love to get to connect more with you all! 

Love,

Moriyah