I
think all of us on this blog love to read. I’ve often heard people say, “I
absolutely love to read, but I just don’t have time.” WHAT?
Even if you read while in line at a
restaurant . . . or a page every night before bed… you'll finish reading a
book. When I had three jobs and kids to handle . . . I still ‘found’ time to
write.
1-Reading Nourishes Your
Writing – I don’t think I’d have written a single book if I hadn’t
been a reader. There were times while reading I’d tell myself, “Now why didn’t that author do this or that?” Or I’d ask, “Really?” to the ending.” Now it’s a given, if I’m writing Native
American – be sure I’m reading my favorite Indian historical or documents on
Native Americans. I go as far as to watch movies and documentaries about the
genre’ I’m writing. Same goes for when I’m writing suspense; I’m reading
suspense books, I’m watching suspense movies, and I read books on killers and
why they kill. You get my point.
I also find reading novels and
documentaries inspire my creativity. I have more ideas come to me when I’m
reading historical facts than any other place. When does inspiration strike
you? Once you figure that out – there is an endless source of book fodder for
you to cultivate!
Reading opens a world of new styles of
writing, and although one wouldn’t ‘copy’ another author’s ‘style’ it will
inspire you to ‘create’ your own style with the information.
I recently read an article where an author
said, “You should read something from every genre to ensure you haven’t missed
a tool from another novel style.” That’s
great advice – one I’m working on for sure.
2-Reading Builds Confidence – When I first
started writing – I studied my favorite author’s style; was pacing even and
pulling me through the book? Did characterization make me fall in love with the
hero/heroine and hate the protagonist? Was setting written so I felt I was
right there with the characters? Did the plot make me turn those pages? etc. NO, I didn’t copy the writing, but I
learned a lot from writers such as Stella Cameron, Roseanne Bittner, and Dee
Brown. I knew there were great writers right in Montana; such as Kat Martin and
BJ Daniels, whom I might add were great inspiration to me when I first started
writing, and still are.
A spanking new author carries so many
insecurities, that it’s frightening to share even one sentence – for fear of it
being torn apart. At the beginning the thought of sharing a completed manuscript with a friend or
stranger was scary enough to send me running hysterically into a closet,
slamming the door, trembling – manuscript gripped tightly in-hand.
Once I got over the fear of having my
manuscript critiqued, then came the heart-pounding fear of reading what was
said about my ‘baby.’ I have to be honest here; the first critique I received
was from a contest. The person who marked in red all over my manuscript was not
kind. She was honest – brutally so – and not concerned with my feelings. She
said, “Learn to write before wasting time creating such a disaster.” I was
devastated! I was going to throw my Selectric IBM typewriter out my front bay
window. I cried for days. I ranted and raved to my friends. I secretly called
the author (whom I truly admired and liked – until the critique) just about
every name I had in my ‘bad name’ arsenal (I’m not much for swearing – so there
weren’t many … but I was angry and hurt!).
Two weeks (or more) later, I decided I would read through the comments again – just in case one or two of them made sense,
and perhaps I could learn from them. With a new attitude about reading those
comments, I found there were a lot of them I could learn from.
I went through the entire manuscript and
rewrote … rewrote… and rewrote. I asked this ‘author/critique guru’ if she was
willing to review it again – and see if it was better. She suggested I learn on
my own.
Hmmmm that was
not a good beginning. So I got angry and when I get angry – I get determined
and stubborn! That was good for me. I
started reading ‘how to’ books, and from there I pushed myself to apply what I
learned into book after book.
Then I stopped. I could read and re-write
until I’m blue in the face. What I needed to do was WRITE. From that point on I
started my writing career and wrote Whispering
Sun, my first Indian historical romance. Ask me how proud of that novel I am!
3-Reading Enables Revision
– My
point here is that after years of confusion and frustration, what I learned is
there is a time when you just need to write and learn how to improve each novel
as you go. I believe it’s important to study books you totally enjoy and become
a better writer for it by learning what worked in someone else’s writing. That
helps you become a better writer in your own work.
When I find things that don’t work in a
book I’m reading, I learn it won’t work in my writing either. You want honest
feedback? This can only happen when
you’re ‘honest’ with yourself. Evaluate your work as though it were someone
else’s work. You’d be surprised how many things glare back at you then.
What this consequently does for you is
builds confidence and helps you improve the quality of your writing. Good
writers are always learning and improving their craft. You need to be a
ruthless editor of your own work. You are only as good as your next novel.
4-Reading Helps You Sell –
There is one added-plus if you're well-read. If you're discussing your work with other writers, authors, or even
editors, you will be prepared if they ask, “Where do your books fit in today’s
market?” You'ill know, with confidence,
where to pitch your work and how it will fit into the universe of existing
books..
My
advice is to never stop reading . . . always find time to read. Life is too short not to be enjoying a good book. It’s my goal to read a
book every week. When I was so busy that I didn’t have time to think – my goal still was to
read at least one book a month. I couldn’t bring myself to stop reading.
My ultimate goal is to have readers out
there wanting to ‘fit my book’ into their busy schedule. I want to be the author
of the book . . . that took them away from it all.
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