How do you read?

TashaGoddard · Feb 14, 2005

Since I've gotten back into writing, I've found that my reading experience seems to have changed.

I've recently been rereading some books by one of my favourite (modern) authors (someone whose books I have reread many times). Admittedly part of this rereading is actually aimed at look at her technique, because my WIP is in the same genre and has some other similarities too. However, I am also reading the books because I really like them. But I've been finding things that bug me now. They didn't bug me at all before - generally I get through one of her books in a couple of days at most and just enjoy the story flowing over me and the suspense building up within (even though I know what happens in the end). But now I'm noticing scenes that seem out of place, scenes that feel like they're missing, odd memories or conversations that don't seem to have any place there, and many other things.

I suppose in some ways this is a good thing because, while I'm gaining insight on certain good techniques, I'm also firming up in mind the sort of thing that isn't quite right, so that I can address it if it appears in my own WIP. And I suppose it's acceptable for this to happen when rereading something.

But it's also happening with new books. It seems that I am now only able to let the story flow and get completely into it if I'm quite tired. Otherwise, I end up stopping and thinking 'Hmm. That's an interesting way to get backstory in.' or 'Oh no! How many adjectives do you need?!' or 'Why did she put it like that? It sounds odd.'

So, am I ever going to be able to just read and enjoy a book again, or will I always be noticing good and bad technique, instead of just reading?

This is actually an extension of what happened to me when I became an editor - for years now, I have had to suffer the agony of spotting (lots and lots of) typos in books, but I've become used to it and am able to notice and quickly move on. So perhaps I will also get used to this writer's eye problem.

Anyway, I'd be interested if anyone else has similar experiences/problems.

THenry · Feb 14, 2005

It happened to me in two phases. After being in a workshop and learning how to critique, I recognized the flaws in everything I read and how I would edit the prose. Later, when I started writing more, I began to recognize the "hows" of the bits that work well.

The last trick, and I still work at it, is reading my own work just like anybody else's and putting the above into practice.

katdad · Feb 14, 2005

I've been an avid reader all my life, and yes, things have changed for me as I became more sophisticated. Not necessarily from learning to write, but from the overall self-education process.

When I was in high school, I positively swooned over Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward Angel" -- I was enamored by the neo-platanism, and identified with the angst.

A couple years ago, I picked up a copy and got only partways before I tossed the book aside. The self-immolative behavior of the protagonist was simply boring and trite.

On the other hand, my fave writer, James Joyce, continues to delight me. I'm presently into maybe my 12th reading of "Ulysses", plus a couple of ancillary books about the novel. I find it endlessly fascinating, and discover new complexities and intriguing puzzles with each reading.

Now in my own genre, mystery, and more particularly hardboiled American private eye novels, I read plenty of the competition. And yes, with my increased awareness of plot techniques and other aspects of writing, I analyze many of the books in a clinical sense, instead of simply enjoying them.

My favorite PI writers are Robert Parker (Spenser), Bill Pronzini (Nameless), and Robert Crais (Elvis Cole). These 3 I never tire of. But with some others I have lost interest.

KellyS. · Feb 14, 2005

Lately, I've found myself noticing technique and grammar. I also notice things that I would have left out, as they seem to have no bearing on the story at all. I can still just let story guide me along its journey most of the time.

MacAllister · Feb 14, 2005

I've started going back through some of my favorite books, taking them apart to see what makes them tick--looking for the magician, behind the trick, so to speak.

Had a "throw it across the room" moment with one of my favorite thriller authors, when I realized he'd deliberately misled the reader. He stopped just short of out-and-out lying...but he was using a third-person limited POV and revealed a key characters thoughts, at one point...just not ALL the thoughts, and put in a very misleading context.

When I reached the point that the actual truth started to surface, I was so angry with him...

CACTUSWENDY · Feb 14, 2005

Not only do i read 'differently'...but even watching a movie or something on tv now takes on a new look.

I catch myself seeing or hearing things in a new way.....like someone that has lost their sight and then begins to 'hear' the world around them.....

This has a few draw backs...but for the most part is a good thingy....if nothing more than becoming more intune with what and how things are received.

Love you guys.......~~~Wendy~~~~
:Jump:

Azure Skye · Feb 14, 2005

I honestly wish I had that problem at times but unfortunately, I haven't been able to read with a critical eye. In some way I feel I need to develop a critical eye so I can spot the writing mistakes in others but I can't see it happening yet unless the writing is so bad it's obvious.

For now, I still just read for escapism.

allion · Feb 14, 2005

For me, the change came when I did my English degree. You are taught to read critically, which is a key difference than just picking up a book to spend an afternoon. You have to read and write so much and often not have time to digest what you have done.

In some ways, this is a good thing. I read everything from Beowulf to Dickens and Whitman, so the experience with different styles and types of writing all becomes grist for the mill. It doesn't make me a better writer, but it does broaden the horizon some.

And somehow, I gained this same critical eye when watching tv or movies. This is one reason I enjoy the show Lost, as it is inventive and something different.

CindyBidar · Feb 14, 2005

I find that when I read a book I consider poorly written, I'm much more critical, and have little tolerance for things like head hopping and as-you-know-Bobs. But with books I love, when I'm reading them specifically to study how the writer did it, I still get lost in the story, and 50 pages later I've forgotten to look for the very things I want to examine. Uncle Jim's advice about typing chapters from favorite books has helped with this a lot, though.

cindy

JanaLanier · Feb 14, 2005

Since I started seriously studying the craft of writing, I'm certainly more critical when I read. But I've found that the mark of a really great book is when I stop the analysis and get absorbed in the story. For 'lesser' works I never turn off critic mode.

I even criticize movies these days... I'm constantly calling out plot holes and coincidences (and I'm driving my hubby crazy!).

Puddle Jumper · Feb 14, 2005

So, am I ever going to be able to just read and enjoy a book again, or will I always be noticing good and bad technique, instead of just reading?

Welcome to the dark side.

At the moment I don't have much knowledge about "techniques" when it comes to fictional writing, so I don't pay much attention when I read a book. I'll notice if there are errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation generally. But this kind of writing was not my college major so I don't know what techniques there are in such writing. Although I find that after reading, I tend to have their style in my head when I begin writing. But my degree was in print journalism so I can't read or even look at a newspaper anymore without looking at it from an editorial perspective. I'll rip a newspaper to shreds if I find it full of errors and I won't have a clue what the articles were about.

cwfgal · Feb 14, 2005

TashaGoddard said:
This is actually an extension of what happened to me when I became an editor - for years now, I have had to suffer the agony of spotting (lots and lots of) typos in books, but I've become used to it and am able to notice and quickly move on. So perhaps I will also get used to this writer's eye problem.

I've learned to indulge in two types of reading. There are times when I want to read purely for pleasure and subdue my editorial eye and over time I've learned to do that. I still note the problems but I do it on a more subconscious level and have learned not to dwell on them. When I want to read with a more critical eye, I can do so. Occasionally the critical side supercedes my efforts to repress it but for the most part I can keep it in rein when I want to.

Beth

Susan Gable · Feb 14, 2005

JanaLanier said:
I even criticize movies these days... I'm constantly calling out plot holes and coincidences (and I'm driving my hubby crazy!).

LOL - Me, too, Jana. I'm always going, "Oh, puhleezzee! Who wrote this? And who let them get away with that?"

I have to admit, once I started writing and learning craft, I also became a much more critical reader. Head-hopping drives me mad. (As I reader, I'd never even noticed it before I started writing.)

But I do still love to read, and when I can find characters and a story that will suck me in, I'm more than happen to turn all that off and go along for the ride with the writer. <happysigh>

Susan G.
--------
www.susangable.com
The Pregnancy Test - Harlequin Superromance - July 2005

AncientEagle · Feb 14, 2005

Whether I am reading for pleasure or reading to study a writer's technique, I can't avoid proof-reading. I spot spelling errors, grammatical inconsistencies, punctuation faults, etc., even when scanning as rapidly as possible. My ear works the same way, with the result that I am constantly correcting speakers on radio or television.

None of this seems to translate automatically into my own work. Just because I can see your errors instantly in no way means my own don't creep into my writing (and speaking) constantly.

mdin · Feb 14, 2005

Mark Twain wrote an essay on this very issue, but I think he framed it in terms of how being a riverboat captain had ruined the beauty of the Mississippi River.

This happens to me, and not just with writing. I'm a photo editor for a daily newspaper, and I look at the photography in newspapers now and just cringe at the quality, something I'd never noticed before. I'll look at the quality of the paper, the ink, see how gray the gray bar is, the skin tone quality of the photographs, the contrast of the black and white, etc ad nauseum.

But the upside is now I can truly appreciate something that's masterfully crafted. I'll look at USA Today and though I think the paper is still bubblegum writing, the quality of the paper itself is outstanding. I'll read a book by Dennis Lehane and realize the art that went into the words, and I'll understand why it's simply on a different level than something that's written by <insert your favorite hack here>. It's worth it, in the end.

katiemac · Feb 14, 2005

For some reason, I always have had an eye for plot holes and such, and then that always drove to my criticism. I think I got this way by reading so much when I was young (and still do read a lot today, when I get the chance) so that I had it fairly developed relatively early. Liberal arts classes (lit, film, etc) only enhance things like this.

That's part of the reason I wanted to write, I think, and have a good eye for plotting and story.

TashaGoddard · Feb 15, 2005

Reading

As always, it's good to know I'm not alone.

It's interesting that many of you do the same with films. That doesn't happen to me (or hasn't yet, anyway), however, my husband it constantly commenting on films - both from a story (and dialogue) point of view and from a photography/artistic point of view. Sometimes it bugs the hell out of me, because I just want to watch the film, but if I've already seen it, it's quite interesting to hear his theories.

Elizabeth · Feb 15, 2005

I, too, read with a different eye now, and watch movies with a different eye now, and read comics with a different eye now...

It can get annoying, but overall I think it's a change for the much, much better. It doesn't prevent me from enjoying a story, at least not yet.

maestrowork · Feb 15, 2005

I have a hard time not to judge a book with my writer's/editor's eye, at least at the beginning. However, once I get into the story, I let that go. At that point (usually about five or six chapters in) I'd become the reader again, and just let the the story lead me. I figure, if I've "sufferred" through six chapter, there must be something in the story that's worth my while.

I still notice plot holes, or passages that drag, or flat characters, etc.

Kasey Mackenzie · Feb 15, 2005

I do read books with a MUCH more critical eye now. Usually, if the story pulls me in I can shut up the Internal Editor and just enjoy the book. If not, I find myself frustrated with both the book and myself and usually set it aside until I can come back at it with a less critical frame of mind.

traceyb · Feb 15, 2005

Hi there,
I too have just started to feel this and it is very puzzling.
I have read most of my life - fiction and non fiction. Last November I wrote a novel, and now when I read, I am choosing what I read carefully, and I am absolutely horrified that some books can actually make it to print. I say, why has this book made it, when mine has not.
I am now trying to find authors who write in the same style I have, to help me with my next two novels.
By profession, I am a webmaster, so in the same vain as other repliers here, I absolutely cringe at some websites. I look at them and go - this is a great well thought out website, or basically, this website needs to be redone - and what were they thinking when they designed this? Perhaps this is the same thing - experience!!!
Also, I now have greater admiration for authors - it is truly a daunting process to write a book, and even more to publish it.
tracey

Trapped in amber · Feb 15, 2005

I found it endearing when I began to notice flaws in the books of one of my favourite authors. And also sort of hopeful, in a strive-for-perfection-but-nobodies-perfect way. And the flaws that are there don't detract from the story for me.

The way I read has definitely changed, there is part of my brain that's frequently asking why something does or does not work. But my enjoyment hasn't lessened. :snoopy:

PattiTheWicked · Feb 15, 2005

How Do You Read?

Critically.

I think now that I've spent so much time working on my own stuff, nitpicking and over-analyzing, I tend to notice little details in other authors that average people probably wouldn't pick up on.

Case in point. I just read Patrick O'Brian's "21", which was his final unfinished manuscript. Several pages into it, I realized he was using a character who had DIED halfway through book 20 in the series. It made me so mad I couldn't even pick it up for days. I finally did start reading it again, but I was so bummed out that it just wasnt the same for me, and I enjoyed the book a lot less than I should have.

Maybe I'm nitpicking, but I think dead characters probably shouldn't be up in the crow's nest.

On the other hand, I also tend to look at contemporary authors with a much more critical eye than I used to. Sometimes I think, "Damn, I wish I ahd written THAT!" and other times I think, "Wow. I can't beleive this drivel was even published."

Mistook · Feb 15, 2005

Doesn't it all go to show that nobody's perfect?

When I see flaws or odd things in published fiction, It makes me feel more at home with the author, and a little less uptight about being a writer. Fiction is like hand-grenades: close enough is just fine, as long as you pull out the pin.

If a friend is talking to you and they sneeze, what do you say? "God bless you." Do you say it out of pity?

No, you're saying, "Hey I make that awful noise and spit all over the place too, and there's nothing any of us can do about it so God bless you buddy. Now where were we?"

jules · Feb 16, 2005

I've found I'm able to switch off the critic if I really get into the story of a book. I was reading one a few days ago, for instance, a 1960s hard SF novel; at the start of the book the writing style really bothered me. It seemed cliche-ridden and stiff, but I soon got into the story and stopped noticing the problems. And by the time I reached the end of the book, I couldn't put it down and hard to start reading the sequel immediately...

How do you read?

Away with the fairies

Registered curmudgeon

*****

Tired and worried.

An old, sappy, and happy one.

Huh?

Character assassin

Has nothing clever to say

Snarling Cur

Puddle Jumper

On the rocks

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Old kid, no need to be gentle.

The late, the great XThe NavigatorX

Five by Five

Away with the fairies

Fear the Death Ray

One Hit Wonder?

traceyb

Unleashing Hell.

Neverending WIP

Bored fanatic