Feb 26 2008
Random Thought: Readers and Nonreaders
I’ve mentioned before that I’m new to fiction writing, but am an avid reader. There are at least six writers I know that never read or read so little that it hardly qualifies as reading. I find that interesting - wannabe novelists who don’t read but expect (wants) the public to read their published books.
Some of them claim they don’t have time to read. Um, yes you do. You just decide to do other things with your time. Some claim they hate to read. What? You hate to read and you want others to invest their time and money in your book. Shameful. Really. It is.
There’s one thing I’ve noticed between readers and nonreaders who write. Readers are better storytellers and nonreaders have the mechanics of writing down (This is a general observation I’ve made as a beta and WIP reader).
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I think that people who want to read will read. I try to read but there is also a balance I have to strike between reading, my family life, TV and other things I want to do. At times having too many hobbies can be a problem.
I don’t read too much, so I cannot say if my writing differs from someone who does read a lot. I know my mechanics are dead-on though.
You mean there are people who write who don’t read??? Strange. Though, you often hear actors saying they don’t watch television/movies…
Have you ever heard someone play the guitar and every chord is just about perfect? Notice how the guitarist knows his way around a guitar, but the music sounds mechanical, uninspired.
I’ve noticed that’s how writers who don’t read “sound” on paper. Sentences and scenes are put together nicely, but the end result isn’t publishable.
Of course, there are natural talents out there. But most of us are not. And also, I haven’t read every single WIP ever created to know if my theory holds true. It’s just an observation I’ve noticed.
What gets me is those who want to be published but HATE to read. That’s a head shaker.
My brain hurts just reading that.
How can you write fiction and not read?!?!?!?!!! It just boggles the mind.
~Nancy
Auria, I recently wrote a post about this subject on my blog.
It’s definitely a head shaker!
And I know what you mean by technically good,
but uninspired re: music and writing.
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