Ray Bradbury

On Tuesday night we lost one of the greatest minds in science fiction. Ray Bradbury quietly passed away at age  91. I first heard the news Wednesday morning and I find myself still reeling from it. There have been a quite a few 'celebrity' deaths in the past few years but none have affected me quite as much as this. They all brought a few moments of sadness but the feeling usually passed after a few hours. Bradbury was different. For the first time since I've read "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Fahrenheit 451" I realized just how much effect this man had on literature, science fiction and me. He was one of the first authors in my life apart from Tolkien that made me want to be a writer. Bradbury showed me how important books and writing were. After reading "Fahrenheit 451" when I was nine years old I tried to commit my favorite books to memory for fear that they would one day be taken away from me. I couldn't memorize more then a single chapter from any of my books so I tired something different. I kept my books safe and started adding my own stories to the world.

I started writing. When I first started I wrote in an extra composition book I took from school, I littered the cover with the words "Private!" and "Keep Out" in big letters surrounded by angry faces to discourage anyone from peeking in. Which was just as well, those stories were terrible as most childhood writing tends to be. As the years went by I read more, I wrote more, and learned more. I understood that my writing, even at its worst, did no one any good locked away between the pages of my journal. Eventually I got up the courage to show my writing to other people. Those people, whether they liked my writing or not, all helped me grow and evolve as a writer. While I was moving I came across a stash of some of my old journals. Looking back it amazes me how much I've grown as a writer.

Throughout the years there were many people, authors and stories that helped my writing evolve into what it is today but Bradbury was the one of the first. He will forever sit in the top four writers that have affected me the most and who I've learned the most from. Bradbury sits beside Tolkien as one of the first authors to make me want to be a writer and still effected me much differently then Tolkien ever did. Tolkien died long before I was born, his writing was something that existed before I was ever an idea and will continue to exist long after. "Lord of the Rings" was like looking at a naturally formed crystal, something rough and beautiful that was already complete and perfectly formed. Bradbury had also started writing before I was born but he continued to do so throughout most of my life. At any age I could always find something new from Bradbury, as incredible as he was he seemed to grow with me. I could always turn around and find Bradbury, it got to a point that I almost believed he would be around my whole life, filling the world with his stories. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it took his death to completely shatter that illusion. I knew he was old and one day he would be gone but in someway I was still unprepared for it.

One thing I regret is that I never truly recognized the impact Bradbury had on me while he was still alive. There are four authors I credit greatly for the person and writer I am today, J.R.R Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, J.K Rowling and Neil Gaiman. So to Tolkien and Bradbury I'd like thank for showing me why I wanted to be a writer. To Rowling and Gaiman I'd like to thank for giving me the courage to keep writing, there were many times I collapsed into a pit of self-loathing and wanted to stop writing completely. Rowling and Gaiman were always there to show me I should keep going, Bradbury and Tolkien were always there to inspire me. For two of these authors this thanks may have come too late but I will never forget them, their stories or the impact they've had on me.  The same can be said for J.K Rowling and Neil Gaiman. I wouldn't be where I am today without any of these writers and I owe them a lifetime of gratitude.

Rest in peace Ray Bradbury. You may be gone, but your writing will stay with us forever and that alone makes this passing just a bit better. Because as the years go by I will always remember him through his writing. These stories will forever remain unchanged but will continue to change me.