Christopher Paolini is probably the author on this list who surprised me the most.

Not because he taught me what I wanted my writing to be.

Because he taught me that my writing was worth pursuing.

When I first discovered The Inheritance Cycle, I wasn't just seeing a story. I was seeing proof that someone young—someone like me—could dream up an entire world and actually bring it into existence.

Paolini started writing when he was young, and that mattered to me. He reminded me that authors are not born after years of permission and approval. Sometimes they are simply people who love stories enough to begin.