When I am drafting I don't read too close to my (very niche) genre. Not because I am afraid to lift things, but because of the imposter syndrome. My draft is a mess, this book is fantastic, I won't ever be able to get there. I do read outside of my genre though, and I read when editing, that is fine.
My genre is broad, so I’ve got that going for me:) But I think I’m always asking myself how I can improve my book, and if that means pushing through a little imposter syndrome, so be it.
I do love Neil Gaiman's advice to let everything in your notebook, or that you read or even experience, "rot down" into something fertile you can use. When drafting a new novel I tend to not read things in that exact genre just to keep from comparing my wobbly seedling to their fully cultivated trees, but I read lots and lots of other things, and they still inform what I do on the page. Not reading would be like not breathing to me.
I too am always baffled when I hear about writers who don't read while drafting/writing/revising! Whether I'm drafting a poem or editing a novel, I find I really need access to as much language and voice as possible--it only nourishes and enriches my own writing (as good compost should!)...also, which writing podcasts do you recommend? I'm always on the lookout for good ones. Thanks!
Have you listened to Publishing Rodeo? I’m obsessed. Also with The Shit about Writing. Others I like: Writers on Writing, Authors and Agents, the Bestseller Experiment, and the Writer Files.
I also love Publishing Rodeo! (Although I would advise against binging season one like I did... it is a very hard-hitting, clear-eyed look at the industry and a super valuable source of information for authors, but by virtue of that fact, it also made me quite sad lol!)
What a fascinating glimpse behind your writing process! Love knowing the elements from real life that you altered along the way. I write memoir so it has to be from real life, but I am in awe of novelists and this type of creativity.
Yes, yes! I love this so much! I'm having one of those moments when a writer articulates something I haven't been able to yet about myself, or maybe that I didn't realize. Thank you! I am working on my first novel and am about halfway through the first draft, and I don't know how I would do this if I wasn't reading. Your description of being "greedy" resonates with me. I've got a novel on my coffee table, one by my bedside, audiobooks on the move, The Sun Magazine open on the kitchen counter, and Substack always. Bits and pieces from books, stories, conversations, memories...my whole world is too rich with material, which is why I began writing in my forties. Great post.😊
Same! At any given time, I am reading one paper book, one on my kindle, and listening an audiobook for the car. I used to only be able to read one book at a time, but I think (strangely?) that my brain has opened up a bit in my 40s, able to accommodate more information at once. And thank you for reading!
I read for the reasons you mentioned and I do read in the genre I'm writing. For the YA book I'm working on, I wanted to stay close to the ways YA dialog and relationships with parents and peers are being portrayed. I don't worry about cross contamination - I know I'll get my voice in there regardless.
Another banger! Loved seeing the list having read the book, inspired me to make my own. I definitely read all throughout but sometimes in other genres to steal their tricks—I'll read a thriller to see how an action scene is aid out, or a book with a lot of dialogue when I'm focusing on that in my own work.
Yes! I have found it's better if I don't read before I've done my writing for the day--otherwise my head enters a different fictional world and I have to work to switch it back to my novel--but I love reading too much to take a break while drafting!
I only read outside my genre while I write the first draft (because I do tend to mimic voice), but I love to devour a whole bunch of books in my genre *in between* drafts one and two, and then I go into draft two with a bunch of new ideas and inspiration.
Part of why this works is that I write a fairly quick first draft across a couple months, and then I bring a more big-picture, critical lens to draft two.
Comforting advice. Sometimes I get jittery about being too close to the bone with my own life experience or influence of another writer that I admire. Thanks
When I am drafting I don't read too close to my (very niche) genre. Not because I am afraid to lift things, but because of the imposter syndrome. My draft is a mess, this book is fantastic, I won't ever be able to get there. I do read outside of my genre though, and I read when editing, that is fine.
My genre is broad, so I’ve got that going for me:) But I think I’m always asking myself how I can improve my book, and if that means pushing through a little imposter syndrome, so be it.
There is no way I could stop reading!
Exactly! I'd never get anything written if I had to stop reading.
I do love Neil Gaiman's advice to let everything in your notebook, or that you read or even experience, "rot down" into something fertile you can use. When drafting a new novel I tend to not read things in that exact genre just to keep from comparing my wobbly seedling to their fully cultivated trees, but I read lots and lots of other things, and they still inform what I do on the page. Not reading would be like not breathing to me.
I too am always baffled when I hear about writers who don't read while drafting/writing/revising! Whether I'm drafting a poem or editing a novel, I find I really need access to as much language and voice as possible--it only nourishes and enriches my own writing (as good compost should!)...also, which writing podcasts do you recommend? I'm always on the lookout for good ones. Thanks!
Have you listened to Publishing Rodeo? I’m obsessed. Also with The Shit about Writing. Others I like: Writers on Writing, Authors and Agents, the Bestseller Experiment, and the Writer Files.
Ooh Publishing Rodeo looks GREAT, thanks for that and all these recs!
I also love Publishing Rodeo! (Although I would advise against binging season one like I did... it is a very hard-hitting, clear-eyed look at the industry and a super valuable source of information for authors, but by virtue of that fact, it also made me quite sad lol!)
lol thank you for the warning!
A lot of hard truths for sure
What a fascinating glimpse behind your writing process! Love knowing the elements from real life that you altered along the way. I write memoir so it has to be from real life, but I am in awe of novelists and this type of creativity.
Yes, yes! I love this so much! I'm having one of those moments when a writer articulates something I haven't been able to yet about myself, or maybe that I didn't realize. Thank you! I am working on my first novel and am about halfway through the first draft, and I don't know how I would do this if I wasn't reading. Your description of being "greedy" resonates with me. I've got a novel on my coffee table, one by my bedside, audiobooks on the move, The Sun Magazine open on the kitchen counter, and Substack always. Bits and pieces from books, stories, conversations, memories...my whole world is too rich with material, which is why I began writing in my forties. Great post.😊
Same! At any given time, I am reading one paper book, one on my kindle, and listening an audiobook for the car. I used to only be able to read one book at a time, but I think (strangely?) that my brain has opened up a bit in my 40s, able to accommodate more information at once. And thank you for reading!
I'm with you. It blows my mind. Why write if you don't read? For that matter, why breathe if you don't read?
Omg I feel the same way
I read for the reasons you mentioned and I do read in the genre I'm writing. For the YA book I'm working on, I wanted to stay close to the ways YA dialog and relationships with parents and peers are being portrayed. I don't worry about cross contamination - I know I'll get my voice in there regardless.
Same!! And such a good point about dialogue, especially with YA
I loved seeing your compost heap! Im going to think of my own now :)
Another banger! Loved seeing the list having read the book, inspired me to make my own. I definitely read all throughout but sometimes in other genres to steal their tricks—I'll read a thriller to see how an action scene is aid out, or a book with a lot of dialogue when I'm focusing on that in my own work.
Great point! I do this too!
Yes! I have found it's better if I don't read before I've done my writing for the day--otherwise my head enters a different fictional world and I have to work to switch it back to my novel--but I love reading too much to take a break while drafting!
Oh interesting!!!! I’m not as organized as you are!
I'm greedy, too! And I love seeing the behind the scenes collection of what goes into another writer's compost bin!
Love this metaphor! (And your newsletter.)
I only read outside my genre while I write the first draft (because I do tend to mimic voice), but I love to devour a whole bunch of books in my genre *in between* drafts one and two, and then I go into draft two with a bunch of new ideas and inspiration.
Part of why this works is that I write a fairly quick first draft across a couple months, and then I bring a more big-picture, critical lens to draft two.
Great point! It takes me like a year to draft, and there’s no way I could stop reading thrillers that long!!
Comforting advice. Sometimes I get jittery about being too close to the bone with my own life experience or influence of another writer that I admire. Thanks