Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

jswwrites — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:18:07 +1000

I write adventure/thriller, and usually read a lot in this genre, but have found since NaNo I can't. I think part of it is not wanting to unconsciously/inadvertently do a similar plot line, but I'm not sure that's all of it. Even when I was done with the NaNo novel, hadn't started editing it, and hadn't started the sequel, I still wasn't reading the genre. Anyone else have this problem?!

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

CountryGirl13 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:33:27 +1000

I sometimes do, just because the stories I write are in things that interest me. Currently I'm working on a short story for school, and it's a Western, mainly because I have been reading Lois L'Amour.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Nianne — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:49:43 +1000

I really can't read fiction at all when I'm drafting a story. If there's something that must be read, I have to read it as quickly as possible because I can't get into the "writing zone" while someone else's story is banging around in my mind (it's not so much the story as the characters, really. I can't become my characters if I'm being presented with the much easier option of becoming somebody else's characters instead).

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Angryman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:23:15 +1000

I write at night, and I also read at night. However, I can't seem to do both in the same night. Which is fine, it means that I can get far in whatever I'm doing.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Horselover150 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:02:31 +1000

I don't always read in the genre that I am writing in, but I always have a book or two in the reading process.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

jswwrites — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:06:12 +1000

Me too. I read, just not in my genre. I feel like Nianne a bit, but more on plot than character I think. With a treasure hunt type book, there are only so many historic places in the world, and I don't want to repeat what someone else has done.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Horselover150 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:08:38 +1000

Yeah, but if I get writer's block, sometimes reading is one of the only things that can get me out of it.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Bookworm140 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:59:51 +1000

I read even if I'm writing. Of course so far the main times I'm writing is in November. I still read, but I tend to read either non-fiction or books about writing. When I read fiction, I have it something significantly different from what I'm writing. If I'm writing something that's a bit sci-fi/fantasy, I might read a light mystery, or some humor. Sometimes it's a conscious decision, sometimes it's just what reading I just happen to pick up. I usually try to be finished with a book before Nano, and I usually won't start another fiction book until a bit into the writing, or I might not read any fiction at all until after nano is over. But I am usually reading something all the time, writing or not. I just love to read.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

PlasticSmoothie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:53:08 +1000

I seem to be unable to read when I'm working on a story... I try, but it's like I'm unable to be just a reader instead of 'writer-who-happens-to-be-reading-someone-else's-book'. I analyze it, notice how descriptions are done, how the story is presented... And so I can't 'lose' myself in the story and just get absorbed by the novel like I usually do. It's really annoying to be honest.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

larelmian — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:51:13 +1000

I read in my genre. Some of my best ideas come when I'm reading. A bit of description, a strong image can get me going when I want to capture something similar. Since the context is completely different and mixed with a hundred other ideas, I don't feel like I'm "stealing" anything. I've already gone through having my ideas taken and spirit crushed, and I think originality is overrated. Writing does not diminish my pleasure in reading, no more than taking a class analyzing music diminishes my pleasure at hearing it. It just means I can hear more layers of it. I might get ideas from plot elements, but usually I turn it around. For example, one of the Shannara books has a prince that's betrayed and killed by his evil adviser. I liked the part about the evil adviser, but I didn't like that he ended up dead. I decided to write my own story where a puppet prince manages to survive -- just barely, though. Terry Brooks himself said that new ideas come in the form of old ideas that are turned around. (See "Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference.")

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

sovay — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:20:54 +1000

I do. Well, actually, I'm usually reading something at least every day of the year, but during Nano, for example, I was reading a few historical novels set specifically during my time period. I do this because I'm a cheater, and copy off other people's research since not all periodicals (my preferred method of researching daily life) go back to 1910 - "Oh, these characters are driving cars? Okay, cars were a thing!" I've also watched god knows how many episodes of Downton Abbey just to watch the cars and the clothes. Honestly.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Webgoji — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:22:28 +1000

Yeah, among other things. I'll read books on writing and books in my genre and street signs and . . . No really, I'm usually reading some instructional book on writing and books in my genre while I'm writing. I do this not only for enjoyment, but to learn what works for other authors. Learn from the best!

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Stratadrake — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:39:59 +1000

Nope, I don't read other books in my genre (Fantasy/Scifi) while writing. I don't read things in my genre at all. In fact, I more or less don't read anything period. I do play videogames, though, and watch the occasional movie. Good writing isn't defined as much by what goes in as what comes out.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Pen and Ink — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:50:54 +1000

I have and I haven't. Most recently I have been working on expanding my writing genres a little more (I had mostly written fantasy up to the past year), so I have been "studying"/reading some classic authors like Agatha Christie while I was working on mystery writing and Isaac Asimov while working on Sci-Fi. Now, the reason I did this was because I had never really read anything in that genre with a critical eye before and wanted to see how the "experts" wrote their stories, how the plot moved, etc. HOWEVER, when I wrote my fantasy novel two years ago, even though I desperately wanted to read the Lord of the Rings over again, I didn't trust myself to be able to and not end up with a novel that sounded like J. R. R. Tolkien. So, I'm pretty deliberate about what I'm reading when I'm working on a particular project.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Riven — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:04:58 +1000

I read a lot of everything XD Crime Drama, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Action Thrillers, anything that gets the creative juices flowing. In my opinion if you want to write a particular genre, you really do NEED to have read a fair amount of the genre just a frame of reference about what you should and shouldn't do. It also helps to see how other writers structure out there stories.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

Voirey-Linger — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:05:58 +1000

I read in my genre. I don't read as much while I'm in the middle of a project, and I try to stay away from similar themes/worlds, but i do read and read a lot.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

thecandiedmango — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:02:28 +1000

I kind of read in my genre sometimes. Is that a good answer? To clarify: the stories that I'm working on right now are thriller/fantasy, fantasy parody, and historical mystery, all of which have strong romantic subplots. I don't read those particular types stories (because I haven't found many of them) but I read stories that have similar elements. I've been reading more historical fiction to help research the historical mystery and provide inspiration for the fantasy stories, and have been reading more mysteries to get insight on the intellectual (rather than emotional) aspects of that genre. And I always read fluffy/inspirational romance because it's FUN.

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

FariFax — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:34:47 +1000

I have a pile of books next to my bed that I have yet to read.... when writing i read whatever i am in the mood for. Sometimes i need to branch out and read something that's not in the genre i'm writing just to get my mind away from things, but I have to admit once in a while i would read a book in the same genre i'm writing in. I do get a lot of ideas when i'm reading. I guess if i'm writing in a genre i'm not that familiar with I would start reading more books in that genre to get an idea of what people of done. I feel that i'm rambling and not making much sense. It's been a long day...

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

A.P. Navis — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:09:11 +1000

I do like to read a lot in the genre, at least before I write, it's kind of like research for me I guess. I have noticed my reading slows down while actually writing though, just not enough hours in the day!

Re: Do you read in your genre while you're writing?

jswwrites — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:58:18 +1000

Yeah, I've read a lot in my genre. I just can't do it during the writing process. Although I love reading it, so it's weird. I read a lot of other stuff, all the time, usually 3 books going at once. But sometimes I miss those books!