Most everyone has someone that they admire and look up to, for inspiration or as a role model for how they should do things. Writers, being people, are no different.
I've always liked and admired the work of Terry Pratchett. From the first book of his that I read (The Light Fantastic) through non-Discworld books such as Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman) and Strata.
When I read about his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's and subsequent creation of his Match It For Pratchett fund to raise money for research, I was even more impressed.
Years ago, I used to be very active on Usenet and newsgroups -- I'm not active there anymore because I don't have access to an NNTP server anymore ... sigh -- you used to be able to run into Pratchett in the newsgroup dedicated to his work. He was very engaging with his fans, and just seemed to be a pretty cool and interesting fellow. A little bizarre at times, but who isn't?
Oh, and let's not forget that he forged his own magical sword after being knighted by the Queen.
I used to try to write humor and satire, but after several failed attempts gave up on it. However, Pratchett's work still provides some good guidance, because his characters and world are very well developed. I feel that every author should strive to have such well-rounded and in-depth development.
Who do you admire in the writing field? Is there someone you look to for guidance (in actual writing or non writing endeavors)?
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