Never stop reading
One question I see pop up during every month long challenge is, "Do you read while writing?"
For me, the answer is yes. I even read the genre I am writing in, if that is what I feel like reading at the time.
Reading should always be a pleasure, a way to kick back and leave the world behind for a few moments or hours. Letting our mind be free of our own thoughts and feelings, is a great way to let stress melt away.
But reading can also be a great way for writers to learn what works and what doesn't. It is slow going to read in this method, studying the why, what, when and where of the characters in play. Seeing what words the author used for different characters to show personality or language. How did they manage a story or plot arc?
What did that author do to create suspense, emotion or horror in the reader? What was it in the first sentence or paragraph that sucked you in on page one?
These are all things a willing to learn writer can get from published authors, without having to attend any writing classes or workshops. It is also the number one thing they all tell a writer to do.
Do you write the same genre that you read? If not why not? I read and write fantasy, horror, mystery and science fiction. I have read some western and romance but prefer not to write it.
Western really does not interest me much and romance is not my thing.
The fear, I am sure everyone worries about this. If I am reading a novel, will that not influence my writing. Perhaps, it's not always a bad thing either. You might see plot holes in your story that mirror what is going on in the novel you are reading. Guess what! You can always go back and edit it and fix those problems.
Writers really need to understand that how ONE person sees a character is different then how anyone else sees it, same with a plot idea. How you see the ending is normally different to what the book will be like or have different twists and turns. How many times have you exclaimed "That's not how I'd end it!" when finishing a book?
I'd say all of us at one point and if you haven't you aren't reading enough books!
All media (TV, movies, music, art and books) influences our creative side and seep into our writing. No way around that unless you live in a bubble.
So put up a book, start reading, let the world fade away and ignore that inner voice.
i am mad on memoirs, bio, i think because there is a story inside of me trying to get out. some little snippets of a life (less lived?), the fact i survived 2 major near death experiences, that i was wooed by a serial killer by someone (friend) who posted my details in a dating magazine when i was new to Los Angeles and i didnt know... after a few conversations turns out later he was awaiting sentencing and still is on death row.... drinking gin from jam jars in malibu with a weird artist, being çut in half'(surgeons joke) to save my life and then while on morphine dreaming i vomited bleach... an odd life, a good life, depression, joy.. i am nervous yet excited to get some help and advice.... memoirs fascinate me. how do people remember SUCH details of conversations/ i look at old photos and remember some things but not whole conversations with my deceased father ( i was 9 ) but i remember the scent, feeling.. do people just make up conversations? or do we know that person so well in our soul/being we can assume we know what their response would have been to say a 6 year olds question about why pickles are green>? certainly i can remember being worken to see tiny white dalmation puppies just born... would the conversation be normal? im not so sure knowing my father and his sense of humour he would have said something totally outrageous.
curious. i love reading. the quiet. turn off the tv, ignore the raving mad crickets barking away and just sit and read. words, ah words.