In other exciting news, you have been chosen for a mission impossible, namely, reading a an honest-to-good-Ethel-Mertz post of epic proportions. What follows is not for the faint of heart nor for the weak of mind, but for the strength of spine and courage of conviction.
Today, is Wednesday. And while it's not Prince Spaghetti day (because there are better pastas out there than Prince), it is time for the monthly post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.
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Since I recently turned into a writer of leisurely pursuits, I often need a kick in the tushie to perform a jumping-jack start to my blog posts. Today is no exception. So Behold! Be Unified! Be Daring! And read the QUESTION! OF! THE! MONTH!
Today's question is brought to you today by the entire alphabet, who is chomping at the bits for April Fool's Day.
How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?
Well, I'm not quite sure how me being a writer has changed my reading experience, but hey, this should be an interesting answer.
I've always been very strange with my reading habits, like really detesting an entire genre of literature {literary fiction & non-fiction}. But I think after pursuing the writing life for the past dozen years, it has sharpened my attention span to the tricks of the trade that I semi-tolerated as a straight reader but now loathe as a reader who writes.
As I mentioned in the preceding paragraph, I detest the literary genre like some people detest the new President. Everything that turns me off as a reader is used in extreme excess by literary writers. I do not need to read fifteen pages of backstory per chapter when I'm reading a novel; I do not need to read a book of non-fiction that ultimately reads like a master's thesis and is drier than Death Valley; I do not need to read a book that starts out with a fantastic premise only to quickly dive bomb into a treatise about your undiagnosed bipolar disease and your journey self loathing {I can back this up and cite you the title in the comments if you so desire}. I do not need to read a mystery that within 30 pages tells me the solution and spends then next 150 in a long-winded psychological info dump of the two main protagonists.
If this sounds like a long rant, I do apologize. What it really boils down to is this: Whereas prior to being a writer, I read for the pure enjoyment of the story. Nowadays, while I still do read for the pure enjoyment, I also read with the dual thoughts running in the background of "How is this particular writer holding my attention? How are they not holding my attention and turning me off?"
As a writer, I always strive to hook the reader from page one and to keep them hooked to the very end. So ultimately, my goal is write what I like to read. Not necessarily from a genre standpoint {I write adult paranormal/fantasy fiction that crosses into erotica}, but from the overall perspective of "hey, this jacket blurb looks interesting, let's crack it open and read a page or two". And really, isn't that the one solid goal that any writer wants to achieve: to write what they read and to consistently have a product that people will pick up, explore and buy.
(c) 2017 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
Literary fiction is brilliant when it comes from the pen of a master. Otherwise, avoid at all costs, LOL!
ReplyDeleteReally? Have you found a master of literary, because I sure haven't. If you did, let me know.
DeleteI'm always noting what works and what doesn't - and why.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of literary fiction either. Mostly because it bores me. But I like your reasons as well.
I left out that particular reason because it would've been way too easy to use the catch-all to end all catch-alls to describe why I loathe literary.
DeleteYou are passionate about your reading and writing and that comes through in this post! I find I'm mostly able to read in two different ways, sometimes to study the craft, and sometimes for enjoyment. Of course, if something isn't hooking me in a book I'm reading for enjoyment, I'll critique what isn't working for me. Christy
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to comment.
DeleteIf a book isn't doing it for me, I'll simply stop and move on to the next one. There have been very few times where I've read a bad book to the bitter end, and ultimately, I've publicly critiqued (like Amazon) as to why it didn't work for me.
One piece of advice: "Read, read, read if you want to become a writer. Even if it's just matchbook covers, read them. Read, read, read."
ReplyDeleteAnother piece of advice: "Do you write? If you write then you are a writer."
Very true.
DeleteI've been reading ever since I was a youngster in the single digits (often my only form entertainment since I didn't have a lot of friends growing up) so reading isn't the problem. Reading the books that could apply to what you write is a whole different thing all together.
Yeah, as a reader, I pretty much stick to genre fiction. Literary is not for me.
ReplyDeleteFiction has always been a challenge for me. Up until I began writing, most fiction that I'd read was limited to historical fiction. Once I started writing, I did make a concentrated effort to expand my horizons into others (i.e. romance & urban) and so far it has worked out very well.
DeleteLiterary originally entered my radar when I was entering contests sponsored by literary journals. Took me three or four years to realize I was just wasting my time and money since my writing was nowhere near what they were looking for.
Good witty titles!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think trying to create titles for stories is half the battle when writing.
DeleteHas being a writer changed the reading experience? Absolutely. I'm irritated as fuck by bad grammar, inappropriate use of commas... ;)
ReplyDeleteI hear you on that. I also don't enjoy being talked down to when I'm reading a story either.
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