Monday, October 4, 2010

Reading Fiction to Improve Writing

I'm a true believer that writers should be reading... a lot! I've been so busy with life lately, I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like to, but what I have read lately has been inspiring as far as writing goes.

For example:

From Scott Westerfeld's THE LAST DAYS:
"Though her long arms were thin and wiry, her muscles were almost as defined as mine...Her movements were slow and pointy, articulated in the wrong spots. I couldn't take my eyes off her: it was like watching a stick insect walk along a branch" (page 78).

Now... while this breaks a couple of "rules" that aspiring writers are *told* to follow, notice what it does very well: describe.

While this is not my favorite book of all times, I did find several passages that I HAD to mark - because of the writing.

Here's another (a simple sentence, and it I felt compelled to mark it):
"I couldn't remember why being miserable had seemed so important" (page 91).

Another thing I learned from reading this book:
Repeated phrases can get pretty annoying. I understand Westerfeld was probably trying to create separate identities for the characters, but by the fifth time a phrase, such as: "That was kind of lateral" (page 98), came along, I found it very irritating.

Anyhow, taking a break to read a book in between revisions could be a very helpful and insightful process. Mark pages while you're reading, because if you're anything like me, you'll forget the inspiration by the time you reach the end of the book.

6 comments:

  1. That's a great idea. I really should take to reading with a pencil...

    :-)

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  2. This makes a lot of sense. I read in much the same way but never tag the inspiration.

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  3. Good advice! I try to read as much as I can, though I watch way too much TV, it cuts into my time. Oh, and I hate repeating phrases! I read a book where she constantly wrote "They all but..." or "I all but..." Ugh!

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  4. Great advice! I do this in between revisions a lot to remind me what good writing sounds like.

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  5. Those are some great examples. Sometimes the break from your own voice is just what you need. Thanks!

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  6. Thanks people! I appreciate the comments!

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