Is there a difference between your favorite author(s) and the ones that inspire you that most? Like a lot of people I have multiple favorite authors but only one who truly inspires me to want to write and love what I do, From speeches to articles to his stories, no one inspires me more then Ray Bradbury. He had such a love for life and writing...
I don't really get inspired by authors, necessarily. For me, it's all about awe inspiring, and delving into the fantastic creative mind. You're able to put other worlds onto paper. How can that not be inspiring?
Selby, Bukowski and Kerouac inspire me the most, but my favorite books are generally written by unknowns. I prefer adventure and travelogues. Although Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is a favorite too, which is ironic because Capote had no respect for Kerouac or the 'Beats'.
Authors don't inspire me. They do entertain me, stimulate me, make me question and think, but inspire, no.
My favorite novelist of all time would have to be Jim Butcher, but the strongest inspiration for my own work would have to be HP Lovecraft. If we're allowed to add television writers, then Joss Whedon and Vince Gilligan would be extremely high on both lists.
Not so long ago I read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and it is the only thing I have read or seen that left me touched for days after. Aside from being an amazing story, it also opened my eyes to what writing could be, and what it could do.
