When I walk beside a mountain stream, words and phrases flow into my mind. Reading literature, especially nature writing, has the same effect on me. Writing is an extension of imagination, and nothing feeds mine more than wilderness and perfectly chosen words.
Following are some of the books that inspired me to write “Where The Crawdads Sing.”
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
When I was earning my zoology degree at the University of Georgia, my wildlife biology professor recommended that I read “A Sand County Almanac.” To this day, it is one of the most inspiring pieces of nonfiction, nature-writing I have read.
My favorite quote from his book is just one example of its stark beauty: “It is warm behind the driftwood now, for the wind has gone with geese. So would I – if I were the wind.”
After university, I spent much of my adult life studying wildlife in some of the most remote regions of Africa. Living in those far reaches of the earth inspired me to wonder if I could write a work of compelling fiction against the backdrop of a wild and wonderful place. To combine Leopold-inspired nature writing with a (hopefully) page-turning plot. “Where The Crawdads Sing” is my attempt at such a dream.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
When my sister recommended that I read a book about a hyena and a tiger named Richard Parker in a young man’s lifeboat because it was so real and profound, I had been studying wild lions and brown hyenas in the Kalahari Desert for many years.
By then I had a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from the University of California at Davis, so I admit to being a bit skeptical of such a book. And very wrong to be so.
Few books have inspired me more because Martel got the science, the parable and the words so right, all in such a weighty story that changed my life. He showed us all how far imagination can go, and that there will always be tigers in our lifeboats along the way.
My favorite quote from his book: “Breaking waves that moonlight and forlorn hope fashioned into illusion.”
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Pitch perfect writing combined with strong story and character-driven prose makes this novel, in my opinion, one of the best ever written. The haunting plot of a beloved ghost, seen and heard, real or not, inspired my imagination as much as the vivid writing.
Morrison’s original and profound story helped me dig deeper into the plot I had imagined; to realize how much farther you can write beyond any horizons.
A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher
“He walked all day on snowshoes, lost in effort, in steady breathing.” So begins this novel, one of the most vividly portrayed I’ve ever read. Fisher’s clear, blunt yet beautiful writing is breathtaking. Her style was so inspiring to me, I constantly scribbled notes on napkins, scraps or in margins as I read.
Phrases jumped in my mind and squirreled in my head until I could get them down on paper. Good writing begets good writing dreams.
West With the Night by Beryl Markham
My favorite quote from her book: “… but for such errant thoughts of an equally errant zebra, I might have seen a little sooner.” Ernest Hemingway said of her book, “this girl … can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers.”
For me, Beryl Markham’s words jump off the page. I can see clearly every scene she paints. Her use of sharp imagery and word economy brings me alive, and inspired me to attempt to write with similar clarity and depth.
