It’s strange but this unseasonably spectacular spring weather that is more akin to an English summer has encouraged me to read more and more. I’ve got a least four fiction books on the go this week but perhaps long ago I made the connection between long relaxing days in the sun and reading.
But things have changed: the reader is me has taken a bit of a back seat because the writer has come to the fore. When I read other authors works a whole series of events can occur and may trigger endless options for my various projects, my work in progress.
So now I find I do both. I’ve learned to read and write simultaneously. I refuse to stop reading but I have to capture my own thoughts, however I find this can make reading quite an arduous process.
It can be frustrating if it’s a great book and I don’t always enjoy the intrusion of my own thoughts distracting me from the story I’m attempting to take pleasure in reading. However, if the read is not as satisfying as I’d hoped then I can easily cease reading and turn my full attention to my own writing.
I can read for pleasure.
I can write for my own enjoyment and if by chance others enjoy reading my work then my efforts have not been wasted.
So which are you: a Reader? A Writer? Or a Writer who Reads?
I am both. Technically. I love reading books, but I stopped a while before I started writing because I wanted to ensure that I would be writing in my own voice, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot of blogs now though.
I understand what you mean entirely. I love to read, and I love to write, but often whilst deeply absorbed in my writing, I find myself spending every spare moment I have with my head in 'my book'! If only there were more hours in the day! :0)
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a writer who reads. Sometimes I just need a break from my own work to read someone else's. Although I think it's made me a bit cynical and has definitely changed my reading habits.
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