Comments on: What reading does for me

By: Bruce H. Johnson

Bruce H. Johnson — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:49:18 +0000

Luckily my family grew up without television in the house — I’m 62 right now.

My brother and I walked a couple miles to the library a couple times a week and devoured books.

I didn’t start writing myself until 2005 and knew nothing of the Craft. However, I’ve learned a lot since then. Now, I read both as an audience and as a reader, learning from both viewpoints.

It can be a curse sometimes, but at least I can get a good grasp on why some passages, chapters and entire books don’t do anything for me as a reader. They teach me as a writer.

Go read something and then go write something great!

By: JoAnn Grote

JoAnn Grote — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:46:24 +0000

All so true.
I think all novelists mourn the loss of the ability to get lost in a book. After all, getting lost in someone else’s story is one of things that made us want to tell our own stories, and hope we’d do it well enough to give readers that same experience.

But you’re right about the benefits, too! We learn so much by studying how other writers make it work.

Right now I’m reading a romantic suspense and loving it. Yes, I notice the writer’s techniques. But I like the story so much that I keep pushing the “writer” in me away by promising myself that after I’ve finished the story, I’ll go back and re-read to focus on how the writer made it all work. Best of both worlds, finding a book I love and from which I can learn.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:45:46 +0000

Perfectly said!

I have had many stages of reading in my life, but right now I think is the hardest to enjoy it the way I used to. Not only have I been reviewing books for about 2 years online, but I have been taking writing classes and working on my manuscript, learning more about mechanics, the do’s and don’ts of the industry and let me tell you stuff pops up all the time that I think “they certainly didn’t take this or that particular writing class…or they just didn’t care”. (Nice, long run on sentence there huh?)

But in the end it makes me focus more on what books are good, be more discerning and be able to appreciate the work that went into a book more. Thanks for the post Susanne!