Whom do you read while writing?

Reading China Miéville and Bradbury help while I'm writing. Miéville is excellent at worldbuilding and helps me get an idea of how to let scene descriptions just flow, something I've always had difficulty with.

Bradbury's style is one I've always admired. Reading his work sort of helps me get back on track when I feel my writing start to stagnate.

Largely genre influenced, I'd say about 3/4 of my reading is sci-fi or fantasy (leaning more to fantasy). The remainder is an ecclectic mix of historical references, horror, biographies and literature or current event and political/economic journals and magazines.

Sometimes the most vivid and bizarre references or supporting plot lines can be drawn from real life.

I don't really give it much thought. I read whatever's at the top of my TBR pile and keep my writing and reading heads separate.

I crank open a random page of the same Robert MCammon books that I've already read multiple times... and pore through pages to get the momentum going.

His excellent prose inspires me but plot-wise, our stories are totally different. I'm writing YA Fantasy (sword & sorcery) and his books (the Matthew Corbett series) are 17th century Sherlock-Holmes investigative thriller.

During the actual writing, I put more emphasis on the execution rather than the plot so that works for me.

I don't read while I write, because I don't want outside influences affecting my stories.

I read the best stuff I can get my hands on, regardless of genre, because it stimulates my own writing reflexes. Right now reading Marisha Pessl and enjoying very much.

And of course non-fiction pertaining to stuff in the current novel.

I'm not a genre writer, so I don't often read genre fiction. The only time I read novels when I'm writing, is to remind me of what I need to be doing. I'll read a couple of random pages of either Don DeLillo, or Amy Hempel to get my head back in the game - and even then, it's usually in the editing stage. Although, I must admit, either of those two have given me some of the hardest 'practice writing' assignments ever! =)

dondomat said:

I write genre, but DeLillo totally kicks my ass from time to time. Every speculative novel should have at least one moment in which the character perceives the world like a DeLillo character, the sunrise roars, the asphalt trembles...

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Your writing assignment, if you dare: The last four pages of chapter 5 from Underworld (beginning with: Marian sat in Jeff's room...). This passage has given me fits for two years. =) Someday... I will learn to write like that!

richcapo said:

I don't read while I write, because I don't want outside influences affecting my stories.

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We stand atop the shoulders of giants, yet some people insist on getting off.

I write historicals so much of my reading material is research. However, I always have a book by my bedside and read for an hour before going to sleep. I read mostly mysteries and thrillers but that's my first choice in reading material anyway, whether or not I'm working on a novel.

I don't worry too much about it. I might avoid something that looks a lot like what I'm writing so I don't start second guessing myself about whether it's too similar. But other than that I just get on with what I want to read.

And the idea of avoiding reading while writing makes no sense to me. I'm always drafting or editing something, so I'd never be reading in that case. I figure as long as I read fairly widely I won't be influenced by reading the same ideas and tropes over and over.

Like seun I don't give it much thought -- I pick up whatever TBR book that appeals on the day.

I try to read compelling suspense or thillers to reroute my brain but I usually end up reading/rereading my own stuff, assessing and tweaking blah blah. . .

Research and non fiction. Keeps me from inadvertently ripping someone off, and it's a nice break. I get rather immersed in my world building and want a change of pace in my off time.

The smartypants answer to this is that I read whatever my next essay is on/what I need to discuss in class this week.

callalily61 said:

Manga. Srsly. It's relaxing.

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Yup! I'm definitely a manga/anime fan, so I often have a tab up next to me with a manga in it.

seun said:

I don't really give it much thought. I read whatever's at the top of my TBR pile and keep my writing and reading heads separate.

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If I'm on holidays, or otherwise have no school reading (ha, ha), I do this. I've never had a problem with "other writers will influence me", because honestly, the number of ideas I've gotten by going "Oh, hey, I like this idea/concept/character" is huge, but I (don't think I) have never actually copied something. I think too hard about my ideas first (usually for months while writing/editing the previous work), and glom too many inspirations together in one plot. My voice is how I naturally fall into writing, and even if I sense that another author is affecting how that voice comes out, it'll be at odds with the rest of the work, so I can easily spot and weed it out in the next revision - I read too quickly for it to become a story-wide issue.

Plus, as others have said, I'm always working on something, so if I never read while writing, I'd never read, and that would be a sad thing indeed.

If I didn't read while writing, I'd never read another book as long as I live. Writers write, and they don't write once every six months. Writers also read, and why not read what you most enjoy reading, whether writing or not?

The best possible thing that can happen is that your writing WILL be influenced by what you're reading.

I'm always writing and I'm always reading. So, everything I read (which is diverse) is read while I am writing.

Well, first of all, I'm almost never "not writing." I take breaks from writing when I'm literally on vacation - maybe two weeks out of the year, so the question of what I read while writing is pretty much the quesiton "What do you read?"

Sometimes, I seek out something specific for research. I want to know how a particular writer dealt with a certain situation or character, but usually, it's a mix of interesting non-fiction and various fantasy, science fiction and urban fantasy books. I have been reading a few graphic novels lately. And then there are chapters from my critique group, which frankly take up most of my fiction reading time.

I read everything I can and I read a lot. Seriously, I got bored babysitting one day and read all of Black Beauty. I cried so hard a 1 and a half year of brought me toilet paper, albeit he dragged the roll all the way through the house.

Whatever takes my fancy.

I'm currently reading The Liar's Gospel by Naomi Alderman, which is semi-research to see how other writers deal with Jerusalem under Roman occupation, and Jewish identity. Its a steep learning curve! But then the other books are A Place of Greater Safety (Hilary Mantel,) Mary Queen of Scots (Margaret George), The Quarry (Iain Banks) and The Luminaries (Eleanor Catton.) There's no logic to it really.