Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Light Reading

I've been reading a lot of books lately while taking a break from writing (three just last weekend!), but now my brain is starting to go, 'click, click, click...' again in preparation for new ideas, new scenes and new ways to screw with my characters. Thankfully, the clicking is less immediate/annoying than the *alarm clock in the box*...

I don't know about you guys, but I find it impossible to read books while writing. Even non-fiction, dry&boring reference material, etc. I find my attention span just shrivels up into a tiny, withered lump that restlessly rolls around inside my brain, refusing to stop and concentrate on any words other than the ones I *should be* putting down on the page myself.

...what I can (and love) to read while writing is comic books :)

So, today I placed an order online at The Book Depository for:

Koko be Good (Jen Wang)
Anya's Ghost (Vera Brosgol)
Gunnerkrigg Court Book III (Tom Siddell)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne M Valente)

...the last of which is not a comic book, but since I loved her 'Orphan's Tales' books (which also have several wonderful drawings throughout) I figured I should get a *real* copy of this rather than on my Kindle. Seeing illustrations on the Kindle just isn't quite the same...

...also, the main character's name is September, so how could I resist?

How about you guys? Can you read/write/edit all at the same time, or are there certain books you find difficult to read during either the editing or writing process? Maybe ones in the same genre you write?

13 comments:

  1. oh my god, I was laughing at that image of your attention span shriveling up and rolling around in your head. I think it's fascinating that you read comic books while you're writing -- particularly because comics really boil down the elements of a story; in a way they are all about structure, without all the heavy character development or major dialogue getting in the way .

    I'm with you, though, I find it hard to read a book straight through while I'm really composing hard. Although I'll sometimes flip open a beloved book at random and study a scene if I'm stuck, and sometimes model my own scene on it.

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  2. ...always a pleasure to know I made someone laugh ;) though I do get some odd looks 'cause I actually say stuff like that in real life, but always with a dead-pan expression.

    ...one image from a previous post I wrote on 'tearing down fear' compared fear, stress and worry to three fat dogs in an inflatable swimming pool. I still laugh myself silly visualizing that one ;)

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  3. I can read and write (not at the exact same time and place...I can multitask but that's going too far lol!) though they have to be different. Right now, I'm reading CLASH OF THE KINGS by G.R.R. Martin which is soooo adult fantasy and working on my YA paranormal WIP titled UNCOMMON.

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  4. since I don't consider myself a writer - but my goodness love yur sense of humour - and since becasue I read so much on line - like now - I usually only read when I go to bed. So I do both but not at same times as stated in a previous comment. Reading is great becasue I get ideas for my writing - a word or a sentence or an image and I bend down the page and take notes later. I don't have an imagination so I need all the help I can get. I started one of my stories with an image I saw on tv

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  5. @ Angela

    Wow, I'm impressed by your multi-tasking-abilities! ...I'm like a race-horse with blinders on... I can only concentrate/finish one thing at a time.

    @ Sue

    ...we've already had the 'are we writers or not?' conversation :) You're just as much one as I am, so when you say you aren't, you're negating me as a writer too :p

    Yeah, I read a TON online... that doesn't necessarily impact my writing, other than it sucks up the time I COULD be writing ;)

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  6. I read every day. Usually I log about an hour's worth of reading time, but some days (like if I'm taking my charges to the park or the indoor play area at the mall), I get in quite a bit more time. I love reading too much to be able to set it aside for other projects lol.

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  7. I can read and write at the same time and just received a fellow author's latest book in the mail. Your last book title is so cheeky, may check it out.

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  8. I can only do one thing at a time.

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  9. Looks like kelworthfiles and I have the same idea. You're being awarded up... and for good cause. I really enjoy your posts:

    http://publishness.blogspot.com/2011/09/better-than-academy-awards.html

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  10. Hahaha... thank you for the awards kelworthfiles & Angela Brown...

    I'll pop by your blogs for sure :)

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  11. I try to read just non-fiction when writing, myself. Otherwise I look back on what I wrote and found I unconsciously stole the style or some turn of phrase from whatever I was reading. The big danger I find to reading fiction when writing is that often stuff I write tends to be a reaction to something read, in terms of 'wait, no, that doesn't make sense; wouldn't the characters/plot do X instead?'. It is hard to complete something when your brain starts on ideas for New Project about X and won't give it a rest.

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  12. @ alcar

    I was THRILLED to read a 'Boy & Fox' snippet on your blog today!! ...great line about having 'the wisest witches'

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Type me out a line of Shakespeare or a line of nonsense. Dumb-blonde-jokes & Irish jokes will make me laugh myself silly :)