Writers are always reading and evaluating—at least I am. Whether I like it or not, the quality of what I read often affects my own writing, regardless of the genre. As I read an especially good book I become so engrossed in the story that I forget about everything except the characters and what happens. I think about them when I must close the book and long after I finish it. A good novel inspires me to stretch my own writing skills and improve, and with every book I get better at it. Always a good thing!
On the other hand, on those occasions when the book is really bad, I find myself thinking, She could’ve said that better. Or... There isn’t much plot here. Or... There’s a hole there. Or... No heroine in her right mind would ever do that! You get the gist. I am so busy editing in my head that I never do get into the story. Sometimes I worry that in reading a bad book, my own writing will suffer. Of course, I soon toss the offending novel aside. Life is too short to waste reading a book you don’t even like. ☺
What can I say except, I am easily influenced by what I read. That’s it, my confession. (If you were expecting something lurid or gossipy, well, this is all you’re getting! ☺)
What about you? If you write, are you similarly affected? Or, would you rather confess to something else? Lurid or gossipy is fine. ☺ I’ll never tell.
Wishing everyone great reads, and until later,
Ann
www.annroth.net
All I Want for Christmas, November 2007
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8 comments:
Don't have anything lurid or gossipy to confess ----
I will confess to sitting down to read when I should be cleaning house or running errands and I'll also confess to refusing to answer the phone if I'm reading.
Those are great confessions, Ellen. :-) You sound like my kind of reader!
Oh, yeah, when I read a great book, I'm always inspired to try to write better. (And read MORE by that author. Ha!)
Funny, but when I read a bad book, I don't have that same kind of grand "inspiration" to try to write better. :)
Although, I do make a "note to self" not to do what that author did that I didn't like.
And if a book is that good, I have been known to cook dinner and read at the same time. It takes skill, but it can be done. LOL!
I'm the same way. The more I write, the more I learn. The more I learn, the harder it is to read a poorly written book. The thing is I'm kinda of a penny pincher so if I spend good money on a book, I feel guilty tossing it aside without finishing it. Although sometimes it can take a few weeks to read the thing because it's so hard to keep my concentration on it.
Reading while you cook? Wow, Jennifer!
I know what you mean about spending good money on a book. But if it's bad, I refuse to waste my time. Even if it is like throwing money down the big black hole. :-)
I'm like you Ann -- if a book is bad I just won't finishe it. I have too many books to read and not enough time to read them so why waste time on a bad book.
When you said Gossip... I was waiting for something juicy!!
Me too... funny how words easily affect us!
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