When it comes to my writing, I try to catch up on the two most influential writers who inspired me to write. I did mention Morley Safer as an influence regarding journalism, but I'm focusing on novelists for this piece. I write about anything and these two writers have also inspired me of my intentions of writing certain pieces or how to attack a writing project when considering descriptions or adding my own style. I don't exactly remember when I realized that I was more of a writer than a speaker. I would like to recall around sophomore or junior year of high school when I first started writing for the newspaper there. Consider this my version of "On Writing," a work done by one of my writing influences, Stephen King.

Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961)

Ernest Hemingway. His name is synonymous with being one of the great, classic American authors. I had to read him for high school summer reading. I'm glad those days are over. However, while I wasn't understanding why we were reading older books in high school, looking back I realize that they're great American works and I now appreciate them. Hemingway was one of those authors. Actually, he was one of the few authors I could understand the first time I read them and he was an author I actually liked.

What I appreciate about Hemingway the most was that he wrote novels and short stories that had elements of his own life integrated within the pages of his works. He writes briefly (like when he was a journalist) and there's lots of dialogue among his characters, who he describes well enough for them to be realistic. They were still works of fiction, but he wrote the stories in a way where it could happen to someone in real life and give the realistic approach to fiction writing. "A Farewell to Arms," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and "The Old Man and the Sea" (which got him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954) are prime examples. Hemingway worked as an ambulance driver in World War I, reported on conflicts in Spain, and was also well known for his hobbies such as fishing in the Florida Keys and Cuba where he befriended Fidel Castro.

While his personal life was turbulent because of alcoholism, a string of bad marriages, and a declining career in writing which led to his depression and his eventual suicide in 1961, Ernest Hemingway left behind some of the greatest writing this country had to offer. High schoolers still read his novels as assignments, or even as term paper subjects at the high school and collegiate levels.

Stephen King (1947 - )

Stephen King on the other hand, is synonymous with horror fiction and suspense stories. Almost every book or short story he has ever written became either a movie, TV miniseries, or even a comic book series. The list of books that are classics go on forever, but just to name a few and give you a taste: "Carrie," "Cujo," "The Shining," "IT," "Salem's Lot," "Pet Semetary," "The Dead Zone", and "The Green Mile."

What I admire about King is that he can take any simple object of daily life and make it scary, but also add descriptive and developed characters with emotions, add poetry within certain chapters, or even write a book within a book, i.e. "Misery." Since he's from Maine and attended the University of Maine, he references frequently pop culture to show the New England environment in his novels to give his settings more importance and a feel for the reader to imagine being with the characters.

What's scary about a car or a dog you might ask? Well I can remember King saying in a book talk that some of his approaches to a story would be a "what's the worst thing that can happen" approach, and novels like some of the ones mentioned had that approach. He also introduces us to characters based off of the types of people who we need to avoid in our lives, like Steve Kemp in "Cujo," Greg Stillson in "The Dead Zone," or Buddy Repperton in "Christine."

I also admire that he urges readers to take writing seriously for many reasons. It could be a career with some people, but for those who do write, it can be a useful tool in the world out there. If you somehow lose you ability to talk or prefer not to talk, write then. Words that are spoken may be forgotten, but once they're on paper, they're there forever.

I first read Stephen King in the 8th grade. I read "IT;" for an 8th grader, I was impressed that I read such a big book, over 1000 pages. Then I read "Pet Semetary" one summer and I read "Cujo" when I wrote this article. I also like the fact that whenever he's asked the question, "Where do you get your ideas from?", sometimes he can't remember. Even if you ask me, I might not remember exactly why I wrote something. It doesn't have to be after something amazing happened to you or a certain memory was triggered. It can be simpler than that. It can be pretty amazing how I could write something after something caught my mind because of it. For example, I could write a story about how bad the swine flu was or pneumonia when I had it years ago, after I sneezed one day. That particular sneeze could trigger the memories of being sick.

Similar to Stephen King, sometimes I can't really remember exactly where I can get some of my ideas, but I'm glad I had them so that I could write.

My Zodiac Symbol: Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

So what do Hemingway and Stephen King have to do with my Zodiac symbol? Since I was born on March 1, my symbol is Pisces. The symbols consists of two fishes, swimming in opposite directions. One of the personality traits of a Pisces is that they enjoy their "me time," a time to get away from reality for a little while, sometimes wishing and thinking that the reality they lived in didn't exist or was a better picture. To me, Hemingway represents one of the fishes that represents the real world, while Stephen King is the other fish, who represents the fantasy world or one's own personal world they wish to be a part of. I'm not saying that my Zodiac symbol and its' characteristics are entirely true about myself, but I can definitely see the comparison I just made. Here's more on Pisces in case if you were curious.

I'm sure we all have different writing influences. It depends on your writing taste and personality of who your influences are. For me it will always be Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King, and I thank them for influencing me to write and that I continue to enjoy what I do.