Your single favorite writer and why!

[gregxb]

So, if you had to narrow it down to one, and only one, who is your single favorite writer and why? It can be a novelist, a screenwriter, it can be a television writer; a comic book writer; it can even be the guy who write fortunes for the cookies at Chinese restaurants. Just pick one, and say why.

My all time favorite author would have to be the great Harlan Ellison. I think his work is just bloody brilliant. Everything he does. There is nothing he hasn't written that isn't a work of genius. I regret to say that I haven't read everything he's written, but I've read most and am working on getting my hands on what I have yet to acquire.

I also admire him as a person. There is nothing I respect more than a man with backbone, who won't let anyone walk all over him. He went after James Cameron when Cameron admitted to stealing his ideas when developing "Terminator." He stands up for the intellectual property of writers, and encourages other writers to get what their owed. He marched for civil rights back in the 60's, and has led a life just as interesting and epic as anything he has ever written. And he has never, ever bullcrapped anyone.

He recently admitted that he's dying, and the world will be a much less interesting place with one of our few voices of true genius gone. I've never met or spoken to him, and I know that is going to be one of my life's regrets.

[dornwolf]

Jim Butcher. Not only do I think he's an enjoyable writer (heck he wrote a Spider-man novel) if you watch any interviews of his on youtube at book releases during Q and A sections he his constantly asked variations off the same question everytime and everytime he answers with a smile he is a great guy.

[tschamp]

David Eddings, rest in peace, because he work got me into reading novels for pure enjoyment. After reading his Belgarid series, I became an avid reader of fantasy novel and some classics that in high school I wouldn't read. He opened a new world to me and it saddens me that there will be no more Eddings novels now.

[Berserkfury819]

J.R.R. Tolkien. I have never read anything that has set my imagination on fire the way the Lord of the Rings has. He created this entire world and mythology with a complex history, its own legends, songs and languages. Tolkien had a way with language that others just don't and I find the end of the Ride of the Rohirim in The Return of the King to be one of the finest examples of written prose in the English language. The way he describes King Theoden and the Rohirim is poetic.

[Sarcasmic]

Terry Goodkind, author of The Sword of Truths. Several people of pointed out plenty of his flaws, like repetition of certain traits in characters and how his villains tend to have sexual themes tied to them, but I enjoy how he writes more than anyone else. He can make you care deeply about a creature who can barely speak, can make the most mundane of tasks interesting and created a huge fantasy world with the Sword of Truth.

[Thrawn]

J.R.R. Tolkien. I have never read anything that has set my imagination on fire the way the Lord of the Rings has. He created this entire world and mythology with a complex history, its own legends, songs and languages.

I don't think I could name only one, but if I had to, the most important one would probably be Tolkien. I first read the Hobbit when I was in sixth or seventh grade. I'd read lots of books and novellas up to that point, but the Hobbit was what I consider to be the first novel I read.

[WadeWilson]

Overall favorite...Richard Bachman (Stephen King) which is surprising because I'm not a Stephen King fan, but I really liked the Bachman books, well at least the 4 that I've read. The Running Man is my favorite book of all time, but maybe that's because I read all of Ben Richards' diologue in an Ahnold voice.

Comic writer...Jason Aaron because his beard is cool.

[butters911]

Hunter S. Thompson

Ive never read a thing by him that I didn't find endlessly entertaining

I think me and him could have had a lot of fun, had I been born a few decades earlier

[spideytothemax]

I like Tolkien, but my number one spot has to go to the Tracy Hickman/Margaret Weis combo, mainly for their Dragonlance stuff. Loved those books.

Special mention to K. A. Applegate. The Animorphs made me love reading.

[iron_patriot]

My novel collection is not as large as my comic collection now(something my mom has pointed out several times. Now, she just seems to accept it) so I'll go with Paul Dini. He created the Batman-Joker dynamic for me, and he wrote my favorite version of Batman: determined but not insane. He also writes such a wide variety of stories very well, from Chill of the Night(psychological), to Harleyquinnade(goofy) to Legends of the Dark-Mite(tongue in cheek tribute to Batman) and to Mad Love(tragicomic, as he once said), my favorite Batman story,by the way.

I hope his Ultimate Spider-Man work is just as good as his Batman.

[Crawlspace Fan]

Wow this is very hard and I love a lot of author. But if I have to pick just one I am going to Terry Brooks. I have loved everything he has read. Though I must admit that I need to catch up on his last few books.

[gregxb]

My novel collection is not as large as my comic collection now(something my mom has pointed out several times. Now, she just seems to accept it) so I'll go with Paul Dini. He created the Batman-Joker dynamic for me, and he wrote my favorite version of Batman: determined but not insane. He also writes such a wide variety of stories very well, from Chill of the Night(psychological), to Harleyquinnade(goofy) to Legends of the Dark-Mite(tongue in cheek tribute to Batman) and to Mad Love(tragicomic, as he once said), my favorite Batman story,by the way.

I hope his Ultimate Spider-Man work is just as good as his Batman.

For the record, Paul Dini didn't do that so much as Alan Burnett did that. He was Bruce Timm's partner on Batman TAS and the DCAU. Dini worked for Burnett, and while he was and is a very talented writer... Burnett was the show-runner for story and writing on those shows. He wrote and assigned each premise, was deeply involved with the scripting, and edited them like every show runner does.

For example, Jane Espenson and David Fury wrote some terrific episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but Joss Whedon was the show runner, the guy in charge, the who whose vision they followed, etc.

I just don't understand why Alan never gets credit for being (with Bruce) the driving force on that series.

[iron_patriot]

Didn't know that. I know of him, but he doesn't really pop up much in the publicity,like appearing at conventions and stuff like that, as far as I know.
Yeah, he deserves a lot of credit for being one of the biggest parts of the DCAU.

Have to ask, how what do you do for animation? You seem to know a lot. I love animation and specifically, voice acting.

[gregxb]

Didn't know that. I know of him, but he doesn't really pop up much in the publicity,like appearing at conventions and stuff like that, as far as I know.
Yeah, he deserves a lot of credit for being one of the biggest parts of the DCAU.

Have to ask, how what do you do for animation? You seem to know a lot. I love animation and specifically, voice acting.

Well, I haven't done any paid work... yet. But I have a lot of friends who work in animation, as artists, writers, directors and voice actors. Been to more than a few seminars on the subject. That, and Greg Weisman is something of a mentor to me.

BTW, I didn't mean to knock Dini, who is phenomenally talented. But Alan Burnett is a fairly modest guy who doesn't really seek the attention. So, if the DCAU has two fathers, while I still think it's Burnett and Timm.... Dini was definitely the most heavily involved uncle.

[fanboy03191]

Not trying to cop out of giving a good answer but I don't have one! Every writer has their own unique style and ideas that make their work great.