Is reading always such a good thing ?

Lifelongdagger said:

I try, as much as time will allow, to follow Steven King's advice of reading four hours a day and writing four hours a day, and it is causing me certain unforseen problems.

It seems that my style of writing is heavily influenced by whichever book I happen to be reading at the time. I began last year by ploughing through most of the Hemingway catalogue, and my MC was born under this influence - straight-talking, a little grumpy, chain-smoking, and a heavy drinker. I have since moved on to the more purpley prose of the Victorian era with A Woman in White, Notre Dame de Paris, and A Turn of the Screw, among others. My MC now has, subsequently, developed sensibilities that are at odds with his original hard-boiled persona. This change is not part of the plot, but I find myself unable to extricate him, and myself, from this situation . . .

So, is it really such a good thing to read constantly or does it hamper consistency?

Views and advice would be most welcome,

Kind regards,

Ian

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Knowledge is tricky that way,

Problem is the mind will be influenced on any idea that inspires positive thoughts and because of this your judgment is altered than your original point of view.

I personally avoid reading just because of how my perception changes after a story is complete but it's hard to not read a story, almost like a drug to me.

If you read, I think it should be opposite to what your writing so at least you eliminate conflict of interest if you really find it difficult.

Perhaps the difficulty is that you tend to be reading concentrated types of books. Instead of reading all the same kind of book for weeks on end, try mixing it up. I do read about three hours a day, but I jump all around in different genres, different periods, fiction and non-fiction. I do find myself occasionally being influenced, but I think it's over all a less intensive thing, because I'm balancing my reading.

Is reading that important?

Yes.

I'm not one for following King's advice, but I try to keep a healthy blend of new books and classics rotating across my night stand. Right now, I'm rereading Jane Austen--all of Jane Austen. I rarely find my characters mirroring what I read but that's mostly because I select my reading for entertainment value and not for research.

And yes, I am entertained by Austen. Geesch...

Welcome to the club.

I've been influenced by a number of writers that I've read while writing.

It can take time to find the "voice" for each book you're writing--your voice. You'll eventually figure out what you're supposed to sound like and what's seepage from others.

Once you get it, then go back and edit.

In the meantime, don't worry about it.

Lifelongdagger said:

I try, as much as time will allow, to follow Steven King's advice of reading four hours a day and writing four hours a day, and it is causing me certain unforseen problems.

It seems that my style of writing is heavily influenced by whichever book I happen to be reading at the time. I began last year by ploughing through most of the Hemingway catalogue, and my MC was born under this influence - straight-talking, a little grumpy, chain-smoking, and a heavy drinker. I have since moved on to the more purpley prose of the Victorian era with A Woman in White, Notre Dame de Paris, and A Turn of the Screw, among others. My MC now has, subsequently, developed sensibilities that are at odds with his original hard-boiled persona. This change is not part of the plot, but I find myself unable to extricate him, and myself, from this situation . . .

So, is it really such a good thing to read constantly or does it hamper consistency?

Views and advice would be most welcome,

Kind regards,

Ian

Click to expand...

Here's a tip: Don't read Hemingway or any of those frilly Victorian novels you mentioned. Oh, and stay away from Dean Koontz too or else you'll morph into his style and your writing will really suck.

Seriously, I found that each time a new HP book came out I had to put my writing on hold. Not so much with my current project, but my last book had MCs too close in age to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

I'm readign the hobbit by Tolkien and I immediately start wondering if my story wouldn't sound better if I narrated it the way tolkien narrates his.
I kinda do get influenced by the way the writers narrate their stories. But I never get characters that are similar and what not.
And I do try to vary. Just a few days ago I was reading "Stardust" and then "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer, and then I read "The Life of Pi" and now I'm on "The Hobbit".
And I also read Douglas adams and I'm not finished yet with that 800 page book.

I really try to vary. I hope that unconsciously I get the best of all of these and am able to write a story that has all these narrative elements that I like.

Reading books you buy for yourself because you're interested, is never boring.
That changes though, if you think "Oh I HAVE to read because it's a sort of homework I have to do to accumulate writing knowledge."
I don't think you should read based on that kind of thinking.

I relate oh so much!

If I read an Agatha Christie, I find myself mimicking her style. If I read one of the 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' trilogy, I want magic, corsets, the works.

Basically, I don't read (outside of school...) while I'm drafting. It gets in the way too much. I need my head cleared of other author's voices and characters and filled with only my own. Plus, there's no way I'd ever have time to spend four hours reading, let alone writing, per day

Gillhoughly said:

Welcome to the club.

I've been influenced by a number of writers that I've read while writing.

It can take time to find the "voice" for each book you're writing--your voice. You'll eventually figure out what you're supposed to sound like and what's seepage from others.

Once you get it, then go back and edit.

In the meantime, don't worry about it.

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I was going to say this too. you have to write so much that your voice emerges. I did a bit of this in my last novel. I started writing in 3rd person. I could feel the influences of other writers moving around in the words, and no solid voice. So I did some writing exercises in what I thought that character's voice was, even wrote poems from his POV (though he would never write poetry). Then I changed the whole thing to first person and the voice came through. Practice the voice you want, it will come out in your writing.

I write every day so would that mean i couldn't read anymore? I've learned to shy away from certain authors while I'm engaged in certain phases of writing, such as the first draft. I'll read those authors when i'm in the editing phase.

You need to find your own comfort level.

Reading is part of our job, as far as I'm concerned. If you want to improve, you read.

But 4 hours reading and 4 hours writing? Maybe once I can quit my real job and ignore my family.

Reading is important, definitely... BUT. You need to know yourself. Not everyone works like Stephen King. I think the gist is that you need to read, much like you need to watch movies in order to know how to make good movies. But everyone is different in how their process information while being creative...

I personally don't read when I'm actively working on my novels. I put all my fiction reading on hold until I'm on break.

I'm influenced by what I read, for which reason I try to read only well-written books. Sometimes I use this tendency deliberately. I wanted my current MC to be more daring and smart alecky, so I read lot of Bujold's Vorkorsigan books. My story isn't at all like hers, but my character's voice is now in the same strain.

I, too, have run into the "influence" problem, but as others here have said -- vary up the types of fiction you're reading, and that effect diminishes. It's a lot harder to imprint on, say, Jane Austen's style, if you're reading The Book of Fate before Persuasion, and then The Ax immediately afterward.

It takes months or years to write a book. Spending that much time away from reading anybody's words but my own would greatly diminish my ability to critically assess my own work -- not to mention spoil my reading fun.

Has anyone in a critique group or someone who reads what you write noticed such a phenomna?
A writing style, no matter how intentional, is hard to mimic perfectly. At the same time, our styles are a mix of everything we've read and learned throughout our lives.
I think you are aware of the likeness between your style and the writer's work, only because you are intimately involved with both at the same time. What seems to be blaringly obvious to you, will not be to most the people in your critique group. As long as you never abandon the style you begin the book with, reading should not affect your work. Allow yourself to incorporate the things you enjoy from other people's writing.
We can find all sorts of influences throughout our books if we study the writing to discover such, but we are not as consious of them when we aren't reading the author at the same time.
Much like a fingerprint there are similarities between your style and others around you - no two are identical.
If you are really worried take your writing to someone you trust, who reads the author of concern regularly, ask them which author you have the most in common with - their answer will likely surprise you.
I've tried this a few times, and one person said my book reminded them of the lady who wrote Harry Potter. I've never read Harry Potter, nor is my book in the fantasy genre. I realized he was most familiar with her work, therefore, he was able to find areas where she and I were alike.
I know this is a long post and I apologize, the important thing is you always read. No matter what.

Don't stop reading--that would be the wrong solution to that problem entirely.

The answer is to WRITE MORE, not read less. That way, as folks have said, you develop your own voice.

Aye you need to be comfortable with your own style. It's just human nature to want to emulate those writers we consider to be successful, half of the battle is knowing when you're doing it.

Now as for the WIP, maybe your MC has multiple personalities... hmmmm.... *snickers* ... yeah, that's the ticket.

Another possible fix is, read some relevant-to-the-story non-fiction before you start to write. That should cleanse your palate and get you thinking in terms of your own story.

Unless you're ploughing through Hemingway, yeah, that would sort of influence my style too if I did that all in one go

The more I read, the less this becomes an issue. I still pick up influences, but I stick them way back in my brain and call upon them when they're needed. Kinda like super powers.

Nicole aka The Prose Ripper - Mistress of the Written Word...

Shweta beat me to it. Read non-fiction. But I couldn't stop reading. That's the wrong answer. Eventually if you find your own voice, it will not be so influenced by what you read at the moment you're writing it.

I agree with others that the more you write the more your own voice will emerge. it's hard and frustrating but it's very important to find your own voice.

I have a hard time reading while I'm writing, so what I do is write during the week, read on the weekends. Might not be the best way for you, but it's the only way I can function. When I read a book, I get sucked into it and can't focus on anything else, thus I get no writing done until the book is done. When I write I like my mind to be on my work. Reading is extremely important, but you need to find the system that works for you, keep up the reading, but you may be like me and not be able to read a book in the same day I'm writing.

Shweta said:

Another possible fix is, read some relevant-to-the-story non-fiction before you start to write. That should cleanse your palate and get you thinking in terms of your own story.

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I consider that research. Not really reading. (Please don't make me explain that.)

Shadow_Ferret said:

I consider that research. Not really reading. (Please don't make me explain that.)

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No, I see what you mean.
Reading fiction is research too, in its way, isn't it? Unless one is reading purely for entertainment, and the more I write the less I can do that.

I don't think a writer can read too much; I can make a strong case for a writer reading too little. I tend to pick my reading selections randomly--meaning whatever book happens to strike my fancy when I actually have a little free time. Reading for research--and I do a lot of that--happens in my office. Reading for pleasure happens anywhere other than my office. Very rarely has another writer's voice affected mine, mostly because I can't aspire so high. On the occasional trashy romance novel that is all I can find (translation--the hospital or my MIL's house) I find myself doing the direct opposite--frantically searching my own work for any stray 'flutes of love' or other such rot.

*grin*

Shweta said:

No, I see what you mean.
Reading fiction is research too, in its way, isn't it? Unless one is reading purely for entertainment, and the more I write the less I can do that.

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I still read everything for entertainment. (Although occassionally I force myself to read something fictionally to see what the writer is doing, like Harry Potter, or Interview with the Vmapire). I have trouble taking myself out of the story and reading it with a critical eye. I might take that sort of thing in subconsciously, but I don't do it deliberately. You know what I mean?

Maybe that's my problem.