Friday, September 18, 2015

#amreading versus #amwriting - which is more important?

I'll admit it. I've been escaping into books way more this year than I've been getting word count onto the pages. It's like I have a tapeworm in my brain that needs to be fed constantly.

Is it a bad thing?

No.

Is it getting my next book written? You know, the one that's supposed to be to the editor by October 1st?

Um, no. Not really.

On the one hand, reading soothes the soul and helps fill the creative well. I love seeing how other authors craft scenes or describe situations and places with beautiful phrases and lyrical language. Even mediocre books can have moments of sheer awe-inspiring beauty written into them.

On the other hand... well, it's getting out of hand. I barely finish reading one before starting the next, and sometimes forget to slow down to write the review, even when I've promised it to an author. Not good. It's almost like I need a 12-step program to get a handle on my reading problem. There's no way I'm gonna quit cold-turkey. That's reee-diculous!

Advice? Ideas? How do other authors handle this dilemma?

Is it even a dilemma?

2 comments:

  1. I find that I can't do both at once. Read and write and I've read about authors who are also like that. However I am not a published author yet. But I do love to read Katie and I share your habit of starting another book before finishing the current one ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I try not to start new books before finishing anymore, I used to do that a lot more. But starting one right on the heels of another is common. I also think you can't be a good writer without being a reader. Just not necessarily at the same time :-)

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