Jenny Zhang and Other Writers Share What Made Them Want to Write

At Nylon, 25 writers share the books that inspired them to write! "There is no single reason anyone becomes a writer, and yet for so many authors, there are distinct moments in their lives when they realized they had stories they wanted to tell," says Kristin Iversen. Jenny Zhang has a thing for The Sweet Valley High Series, by Francine Pascal: 

The Sweet Valley High series was what made me want to be a writer. All the iterations—Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, even the minor arcana of The Unicorn Club, which was the inspiration for my first significant “literary” short story, entitled “The Crystal Club.” I know Francine Pascal herself didn’t write each and every book, but rather was the creator and overseer of a brand that produced the world of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. From those books, I learned about story structure, the pleasure and importance of archetypes, dialogue, and tension. The later series that followed the twins into college and adulthood were soapy and overwrought and ridiculous, but I loved it. There has never been and will likely never be a great work of adult literature that will ever compare to the experience of reading those books. I would read 20 in a day, lose a night of sleep, a day of meals, read so fast I would reread the last 20 books in the series as I waited for the next one to come in. The power those books held over me will never fade. —Jenny Zhang, author of Sour Heart

Find 24 more at Nylon.