Blog Post Number 36 Written 06-27-2021 Uploaded 11-12-2022
Reading, and the way I enjoy and consume books since seriously taking up writing and getting published have changed. I do still enjoy a good story, but my consumption of literature has also gotten much more, academic. I am actively and constantly critiquing the author’s word choice, the editing, their use of the oxford comma, their choice of character names. Second-guessing everything they write, their intentions, the plot, trying to mentally get ahead of their story, and so on. I assume everything is foreshadowing.
When reading science fiction my scrutiny is cranked up even higher, not just on their writing and editing of the book, but their science too. How real, how possible it is. Good science fiction only breaks one rule of physics per franchise. That’s a whole rant for a whole different rant for a different time.
I have also now that I have been published made a concerted effort to read other things besides fantasy and sci-fi. I’ve looked into some horror, some romance some regular action thrillers, I’ve got a bunch of old paperbacks that I am going to call spaghetti westerns on my to-be-read shelf too. (which have been read since this was initially written. They were very formulaic)
Nor can I read while I am writing. Or write while I am reading. I don’t know if it’s like that for all authors or any other authors. But it is like that for me. Mostly just because I lack time because there are only so many hours in the week. If I am going to take the time to read a book, I have to give up the time I would normally spend writing. I have started taking books to work and reading while I am on my lunch breaks but that only leaves me time to read fifteen to twenty pages a day and then it will often take me two or three weeks to read a book, it not two ro three months. I guess my biggest problem both with reading, and writing is lack of time. If anyone has a secret to make extra hours per week let me know. I already tried Arnold’s method of ‘sleeping faster’.
Anyway, point is, the way I consume books has changed and become much more judgemental after getting published, and if you really love reading and the adventures you get out of that and are considering writing. Maybe… think about that an extra minute, because once you understand the writing process firsthand, and that will change the way you read, at least in my case it’s much more…. Academic?
Consider, yourself warned.
*slowly backs out of room waving hands mystically and making voodoo noises*
“oohooo ooohooo”
Chace Randolph 