Broad Tapestries

Today I finished my big edit of "Book One" (still don't have a title) and started writing "Book Two." As the story ended on a cliffhanger for the first book, I thought about the influence of writers on my own style. Sure, I read a lot and have more than a handful of favorite authors, but do any of them really influence me? For the most part, no, they don't. Good writing makes me happy, end of story. Of course, there is one author I've been reading since I was 13 years old who definitely influences me to this day: Anne McCaffrey.

For those of you who don't know, Anne McCaffrey is most famous for her Dragonriders of Pern series. There are few authors who make you think you're reading fantasy only to discover it's really science fiction. (I dislike spoilers, so I won't go into specifics. But if you're curious, type in P.E.R.N. into a search engine, complete with the periods, and you should find out right quick what I'm talking about.) As you read the first book, Dragonflight, you realize the sheer number of characters introduced and think to yourself, "Doesn't this go against every how-to rule of writing?" Well, too many characters can be confusing if it's not handled correctly, but McCaffrey writes in "broad tapestries." For a better idea of her writing style, read the following quote:

I write in broad tapestries, interweaving characters lives, leaving the little details to the reader unless the details are important.

I have this scratched on a piece of paper I've kept since high school for a reason: this is my favorite style of writing. If you're going to create a whole world, it becomes more interesting with a variety of characters. Also, leave out the unimportant stuff. I don't want to know the description of every item in the room or read about you walking around the garden alone unless something is going to happen. SKIP the unnecessary, but DO include more points of view to help flesh out your world.

My own writing style reflects this, so if you're looking for elegant descriptions of rooms and clothing, or lots of irrelevant conversation, you may not like my stories. But if you do like stories that span longer amounts of time and leave room for your imagination to handle the little details, then mine might be worth a read.

I've always dreamt of Anne McCaffrey reading one of my stories, but we'll just have to wait and see.