Friday Fives: Writers Who Inspire

It’s Friday, so it’s time for Paper Hangover’s Friday Fives! Every Friday, someone over at Paper Hangover asks their followers for a list of five things. We all then list those five things on our blog, and link to our blog at Paper Hangover so we can visit one another and see each other’s lists. Today’s list is: The FIVE authors who inspire you, writing or otherwise.

In a sense, every book I read (and hence every author) inspires me in some way–sometimes positively (“Wow, I’d love to be able to write like that!”) and sometimes negatively (“What the…? I could write better than that!”). So, I’ve decided for this list to look at five authors who have inspired me positively in some way. If you’ve been paying attention to my blog, it should come as no surprise to you that I have a mix of novelists and theologians. And for some strange reason, most seem to use two initials and a last name. Perhaps I should write as C. D. Smith…?

• C. S. Lewis. The first Lewis I read was The Screwtape Letters, which I loved. After that, I read many of his theological books and essays (Mere Christianity, The Four Loves, God in the Dock, etc.). I was aware of Narnia, and had an idea what it was about, but never actually read it until I was into my twenties. When I did, I was impressed, not only at his skill as a storyteller, but how masterfully he wove theological concepts into his fiction. Lewis inspires me because he was such a deep and clear thinker, as well as being a deep and clear writer. His command of language was second-to-none, and he could write this way for children as well as adults. While this list is not in any particular order, I would have to say that in terms of making me think both about faith and writing, Lewis has to be at the top.
• J. K. Rowling. Rowling makes this list because she inspired me to get back into writing fiction after a long hiatus. I’m sure I’ll tell the complete story sometime (some of it’s in a comment somewhere on this blog), but after reading the first couple of Harry Potter books, I thought, “I used to enjoy writing stuff like this.” This then led me to consider that maybe I would still enjoy writing fiction… which led me to pick up pen and paper, and here I am today. Thanks J.K.!
• H. G. Wells. As I mentioned on my first Road Trip Wednesday, The War of the Worlds was the first serious book I ever read. I loved this story, both in it’s original prose form, and Jeff Wayne’s musical version. The concept, and the way Wells told the story, fired my young mind not only to produce my own derivative versions (like “The Battle of the Planets”–and I was annoyed when a cartoon series of this name came on TV: that title was mine and they stole it from me!), but to think in terms of “what if…?” which is, in my mind, the key to writing fiction.
• Dr. R. C. Sproul. Theologian R. C. Sproul is, IMO, one of the best teachers alive on this planet. He has a way of explaining and illustrating deep concepts that makes them both easy to grasp and entertaining. His book The Holiness of God is a classic, and certainly inspired me to look long and hard at myself and my faith.
• Dr. James R. White. James is a pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. He mentored me through my M.Div. program, has participated in over 100 formal moderated debates with people from various religious backgrounds, and has written more than twenty books on apologetic and theological issues. What inspires me most about James, though, is that while he is a man of great scholarship, he is also a man of great integrity, humility, and discipline. He reads voraciously, both books he enjoys, and ones he doesn’t for the sake of being able to accurately respond to those with whom he disagrees. He always puts his ministry and the needs of those for whom he ministers before himself and his ego. In fact, he has said that the reason he debates, writes, and does what he does is not to make a name for himself, but to leave the church a body of work that will be helpful long after he’s gone. His name is irrelevant to him. It’s the work that matters. Life is short, he will say, and we must use what we have wisely, making good use of the gifts we’ve been given.

There’s my five. Can you think of five writers that have inspired you? Join in the fun at Paper Hangover!