Often when I ask newer writers whose work they admire or study, they mention books on the best-seller lists or the currently most popular movies. That's fine, it's good to be aware of what's working in today's marketplace. But it's not enough.
I think we need to draw our inspiration from deeper wells. These include:
* The novels that have stood the test of time, by the great authors like Dickens, Austen, Twain, Dostoevsky, and more recently, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner.
* Short stories by masters of the form like Chekhov, Someset Maugham, Gorki.
* The mythology of various cultures
* Folk Tales
* Fairy Tales
* Classic movies like Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, Rashomon, Ran, Lawrence of Arabia, Shane, High Noon.
Whether you agree with my choices doesn't matter, what does matter is that you keep feeding your brain with material that has stood the test of time.
ACTION: Consider taking a couple of hours a week or more to expose yourself to the work of the greats of the past and the recent past.
(Would you also like to learn how to write from the masters? I have collected their writing advice in my newest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass." It also helps you apply that advice to what you are writing. You can get the book from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
