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When I first started down the path of serious writing, I bought two cheap notebooks from the dollar store. They were flimsy a6 sized books; spiral-bound with perforated pages. I still have them somewhere along with tons of other notebooks that harbor both good and cringe-worthy ideas. Mostly cringe-worthy, if I’m honest.
Recently, I watched a video by Sarra Cannon on YouTube where she explains how she’s made a Book of Master Lists to pinpoint influences for her writing. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Apparently, the idea came about after reading Alexandra Sokoloff’s Screenwriting Tricks for Authors.
It sort of gives me junior high school scrapbooking vibes and I’m here for it.
Having a notebook dedicated to your influences can help to sort out the essence of what drives the inner workings of your stories. It may reveal what connects your writing to what you love in others’ works and a little about yourself too.
Early Exposure
An overwhelming number of subjects in my collection are from the sci-fi and horror genres, which is surprising. I’m not a die-hard fan like Rob Zombie or anything. I have Love Jones, Pretty in Pink, and Purple Rain in there too. Heck, I love Jackie Brown, Rambo, Rocky, and Uptown Saturday Night too.
Funny story. Growing up, I was an Army brat, and we lived in Germany in the eighties. The people in our neighborhood loaned each other movies on video tapes to copy. We had a VHS tape with The Amityville Horror, along with 1001 Rabbit Tales. It was a race against time to turn off the end credits of the Bugs Bunny movie before the creepy kids started singing the theme song of Amityville. Don’t ask me why my parents didn’t copy it to a different tape. I guess I would have stumbled across it anyway, but still.
I’ve finally purchased a copy of the paperback. I hear it’s not as good as the movie, but we’ll see.
When I turned nine or ten, something clicked, and I embraced the horror. The Friday the 13th franchise was big back then. I still love Evil Dead, Dario Argento’s Demons, and campy stuff like Night of the Comet and Squirm. Probably my favorites are The Thing, American Werewolf in London, and Dawn of the Dead. Exceptional stuff.
Where I Get My Influences From Now:
These days, there’s not much that I find frightening. Horror’s not what it used to be. I enjoy reading older stories that I might have missed when I was younger, like ‘Salem’s Lot. I read it last year and I’m still thinking about it.
What made it stay on my mind? Was it the cast of characters? Did I care what happened to them? Mostly, no. I think it was the mysterious villain who drew me in. He was foreboding and dangerous, and the simple townspeople were up against impossible odds. How the hell were they going to win? This is what you can pick apart in your list.
Early in my career, I was introduced to the idea of creating a set of Master Lists in order to figure out what inspired me and why.
Sarra Cannon
The Book of Master Lists is like an artist’s study. Instead of pulling out a sketchbook to try your hand at painting Monet or Manet, or figure drawing, the writer studies an array beyond (and possibly including), the fine arts. We can pull our inspiration from art, books, film, video games (yay, Resident Evil), and other forms of media. It’s a curated collection of what gets you going.
My biggest problem is narrowing the scope. It could get out of hand.
How do I contain it?
What type of notebook is best for this undertaking? I’m on the fence. Will a bound notebook do the job? If I choose a larger one like the Miqel Rius one, will it suffice? Or, the Moleskine expanded? I thought about using a discbound notebook, but the mediums I use would weigh the pages down. I know, I’m overthinking it, but hey, writer here.
The Process
This is an exercise in spontaneity; I’m winging it. I uploaded images of movie posters to Canva (I love Canva), and set them all to the same size, then printed them on sheets of sticker paper. Writing why I liked these movies and what elements stuck with me over time is a useful way to develop ideas and isolate tropes. I plan to do this with books if the stickers hold up and I might list my favorite characters from both mediums and cross-reference them with others, noting similarities and what makes them endearing or interesting to me.
Since it’s a work in progress, I’ll be sharing more in the future as it comes along. Share if you’re making one! Sarra is inviting everyone to post pics on Instagram under the #bookofmasterlists hashtag.
I enjoy a twisted story—especially if there are jinn, witches and vampires. I’m challenging my readers to imagine a world of diverse Muslim characters caught up in otherworldly situations.
