Tonight's ramblings comprise random thoughts about how I got to where I am in my writing...
One of my favorite authors of all time is the late Douglas Adams. His wildly successful and very inaptly named Hitchhiker's Trilogy are at the top of my list of desert-island books. Shame about the movie(s), though. The absolutely best quote from the trilogy is this: "I think this is getting needlessly messianic." It's terribly difficult to find an appropriate situation in which to use, though. I've only managed it once, myself. Sadly, no one got it at the time.
Moving away from written media, I have to admit I couldn't be where I am without Star Wars (the original trilogy, of course). Like so many of my generation, I was blown away by ANH. It's almost scary how the lexicon of Star Wars has come to permeate popular culture, but it does provide convenient shorthand for spec-fic in many areas. Tonight, I'm writing about faster-than-light travel. By using subtle references to Star Wars concepts ("jumping to hyperspace," etc.), I can convey ideas quite compactly. My hyperspace is actually the underworld, though, which is not what the protag expects at all. (He's seen Star Wars, too, so he's got baggage going in.)
Wow, I almost forgot all the role-playing games. My cousin Craig introduced me to D&D in its heyday, and after that came a slew of worlds via Traveller, Top Secret, Marvel Superheroes, Paranoia, Car Wars, Villains & Vigilantes, Shadowrun, Star Frontiers, 2300 AD, Torg, and probably more I'm not remembering right now. Chris, Jimmy, Craig, Brant, Bradly, Willy, Rob, Leo, and a bunch of extras and walk-ons made up the cast of my RPG phase. I miss it, but it lives on in its influence on my writing.
What else? Star Blazers (anime); I, Robot (the short story collection, not the Will Smith movie); Mallworld by Somtow Sucharitkul; Dick, Heinlein, King, Vonnegut, Lovecraft, Lewis, L'Engle... What a mish-mash of styles, stories, milieus.
They're all a part of my yesterday, rolled up into my today. I hope what results wouldn't disappoint them too much.