Reading Outside Genre to be a Better Writer

[Steerpike]

I was reading an article recently that had some generic tips for writers, as well as book recommendations for aspiring writers. The only thing that really struck me was that the first suggestion the author made was to read outside of your chosen genre. Personally, I think this is vital for a writer. I believe that reading is the second most important thing a writer can do, apart from actually writing, and I think it behooves us to read in every genre out there. I find there is always something I can take away from a book, regardless of genre, and books in different genres tend to have different strengths and weaknesses.

What do you guys think? I'd like feedback because I thought this might make a nice article at some point.

[Devor]

I don't say it often, but I've felt since I've been here that it's best to read outside of the genre. Learn language and story pacing without having everyone else's idea of a fantasy story pressed into your head.

Of course, that's only true to a point, and now that I personally have a clear idea of what my idea of a good fantasy story looks like, I've been reading more inside the genre so I can broaden my ideas and have a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

[Steerpike]

Makes sense, Devor. I certainly think one should be well-read inside the genre. Your readers will be, and you don't want to make mistakes that are due to your ignorance of what has come before in Fantasy.

I do like to read a lot in other genres as well. Look at some thrillers to learn how to keep up a pace and how to make readers say "just one more chapter" no matter how tired they are (Michael Connelly and Robert Crais do this to me).

Look at horror to see how authors handle fear and dread, tension, and the description and action around characters as they encounter the supernatural or horrific.

If you have romantic sub-plots, take a look at some romance to see how authors make it work as the primary plot of a book.

Want to incorporate a mystery into your plot line? Read some actual mystery novels and see how those skilled authors make it all come together in the end.

Then bring all of that back to your fantasy novel.

[JonSnow]

I read a lot of both fantasy and non-fantasy. From storytelling, pacing, and vocabulary aspects, non-fantasy reading can be really beneficial. I've always believed that reading is the most important thing a writer can do, outside writing, because you can draw something from every other author... whether that be style, methods of description, vocabulary....it can even spark plot or character ideas for your own writing.

[T.Allen.Smith]

I agree that reading is the 2nd most important activity for any writer. As Ray Bradbury used to say:

"If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape."

I'm always surprised when I hear people that say they want to be writers but admit they never read. I just don't get that. They give all sorts of reasons like "too busy" or "I don't want another's writing to influence my own creative genius"... Blah blah. It's all BS in my eyes.

Reading is an essential component to understanding the craft of writing alone, not to mention the flood of ideas for your own works that can be unleashed through reading the work of others. My favorite part of reading (being a critical reader) is becoming lost in a book, forgetting that I'm reading a story with that critical eye,being so immersed that I don't want the chapter to end. When the chapter finishes I think, "Hey, how did he/she do that?" This is where I then have to go back and dissect the writing, it's dialogue, it's cadence, it's description. To me that's the magic of reading as a writer and it's invaluable across all genres because they all have their strengths which pull in a certain type of reader who has certain tastes. I want to develop my craft so that I can incorporate several of those elements and broaden the appeal of my work. There's no better way than to read.

[Jabrosky]

I'm always surprised when I hear people that say they want to be writers but admit they never read. I just don't get that. They give all sorts of reasons like "too busy" or "I don't want another's writing to influence my own creative genius"... Blah blah. It's all BS in my eyes.

I plead guilty to reading only occasionally, possibly because I'm so wrapped up in my own little world and its stories that I don't make enough time to enjoy other people's creations. That said, I have been reading more frequently within the past few days, and I like to think that my most recent prose has improved because of it (for example, it's much less terse than it used to be).

My personal library isn't all fantasy BTW. I have some historical, some sci-fi, and even one romance.

[Lorna]

I love reading. There's nothing more satisfying than after spending a day writing sitting down to read a good book and appreciating the work that has been put in.

I read avidly across several genres- fantasy, local history, poetry, classics, travel literature, I'm currently subscribed to a quarterly horror mag called Dark Tales. All helps the writing.

Some genres I can't read. Try as I might I can't read detective stories. I don't like detectives. I really wanted to read China Mieville's The city and the City but I couldn't because I didn't like the MC. I don't think I could read pure romance unless the setting and events surrounding the characters held my interest. Nor can I warrant setting aside the time to read long fantasy series like Game of Thrones.

[Penpilot]

I couldn't agree more that reading widely can make you a better writer. Good writing is good writing no matter what genre its in. Need help with that romance subplot, why not read a good romance novel. Need to work on character, read some contemporary fiction. With certain elements like magic not in play, other things like character and plot tend to stand out more, so you can study and learn from them with out the clutter of shiny magical elements distracting you.

This kind of goes hand in hand with the tendency of some to use genre elements as a crutch and writing about those elements thinking they're the story instead of part of the setting.

[JBryden88]

Recently I've delved into beyond fantasy.

On one hand, I've been reading a historical fiction Viking series by Tim Severn. Beautiful story based on fact, I'm about to hit book three.

On the other I'm finding a bit more inspiration in comic books oddly enough. Seeing how some of them can do so much character development within short issues is doing wonders for the long term of character development in a novel let alone a series.

[JonSnow]

Recently I've delved into beyond fantasy.

On one hand, I've been reading a historical fiction Viking series by Tim Severn. Beautiful story based on fact, I'm about to hit book three.

On the other I'm finding a bit more inspiration in comic books oddly enough. Seeing how some of them can do so much character development within short issues is doing wonders for the long term of character development in a novel let alone a series.

So I've been trying to create a race of people for my story that are similar to Vikings (at least what Viking legends tell) in terms of them being nordic, seafaring, warring peoples. I just ordered Viking (Odinn's Child) off eBay and can't wait to read it.