What Influenced Me as a Writer

I think this article might be a little counter-intuitive to some people. The biggest influences on my writing have all come from television more than other writers. Sure, Terry Pratchett and Discworld has probably had some influence on me but Discworld came into my life much later and after my writing had started to take shape.

I tend to see myself as a comedy writer more than anything else. I like trying to be funny, I'm good at being funny and I've developed my writing sense of humor a lot over the years. So with that said, there are a few shows that have had gigantic influences on how I write, the kind of jokes I go for and how I structure myself.

Looney Toons:

I loved them as a kid and found a new love for them as an adult. Honestly, this is where I learned the rules of comedy. It taught me how to effectively use pop culture satire and it taught me how to be subtle in my approach to things. Especially as an adult, you really see the deeper comedy in Looney Toons. Foghorn Leghorn is suddenly this obnoxious sexist loudmouth instead of just being a loudmouth. If you haven't watch them as an adult, you should give it a try, there's really a new layer to the cartoons.

The Simpsons:

The Simpsons was arguably the biggest life influence I've ever had from a television show. I was 9 years old when the show's first season began and I watched faithfully until my early 20s. The biggest thing I've learned from the Simpsons has been character interaction. The Simpsons was a great example of how deep and well developed characters create the comedy and can almost write themselves in a lot of situations. I think I've developed a more natural style to my writing thanks to the Simpsons.

Mystery Science Theater 3000:

If you've never seen this show. It's a guy and two puppets watching really bad movies from the 40s, 50s and 60s and making fun of them while they watch. I can't point to specific things this show has influenced but I was watching this show on an almost daily basis for a long time.

Monty Python:

Why? Because you can't be funny without having seen something they've done. If you disagree, well then you're a dirty hippy. Get off my lawn... no really... get off my lawn... damn kids...