Jason
Scribe
Someone, is doing it on my Kindle Unlimited KENP read.
I only read when I go to the toilet so that means it takes about a few months to read a decent sized tome. Plenty of time to take in the sentence structure, the use of words, the description of the settings (which can really come alive with the right sort of writing style), the dialogue and other things.The objectively correct way to read is to read a couple of pages multiple times over, reflect on the pretty prose and interesting facts, let your mind wander and then do the same thing for the next two pages a week later. That's the trick to stretching out a single book to a months-long time-burner.
Have you ever been an avid reader of books?So, I'm in a bit of a conundrum here. Like everyone else here, I enjoy writing fiction, especially speculative fiction. However, I must confess that I am not an avid reader of books. Idk what it is, I just struggle to finish anything I try to read.
Well, despite being a frequenter of a fantasy writing forum, I only ever read one novel that could be classified as your standard medieval fantasy literature: Eragon. Maybe also Redwall, since it's also Medieval, but there's nothing "fantastical" about the setting that I can recall aside from there being anthropomorphic animals.Have you ever been an avid reader of books?
I think reading a lot helps, but it doesn't have to be all the time. When I'm writing, I tend to read less. Is there any type of book you like reading, even if not fantasy?
Well... good luck.Well, despite being a frequenter of a fantasy writing forum, I only ever read one novel that could be classified as your standard medieval fantasy literature: Eragon. Maybe also Redwall, since it's also Medieval, but there's nothing "fantastical" about the setting that I can recall aside from there being anthropomorphic animals.
Most of the other fantasy literature I have read is based on Classical Mythology like the Percy Jackson series or more of an urban fantasy novel.
I do like the Daniel X series, though that's sci-fi.
In general, I don't like novels that are too lavish with their prose. I end up skipping over paragraphs of descriptions and would prefer the novel get to the point. There are obviously exceptions, like Redwall as I mentioned above.
I don’t know why…now in hindsight, but I came to this forum in part because I thought I’d be amongst people who liked to write, and I also assumed that those people also loved to read. I was surprised (and now I’m not) at just how many people are brought to try their hand at writing their own fantasy story from a gaming perspective. What is it about gaming that makes people want to write a novel? It’s an interesting thought to me, and maybe I’ve questioned it’s legitimacy, but maybe it’s perfectly reasonable that playing an immersive RPG would be a catalyst to want to tell stories of your own.I normally find myself pushing back a little against the advice to read a lot. In this thread I find myself wondering where all the readers went?
The thing is, I understand not reading much. We have to prioritize our time, reading can sometimes over-stressed, and you have to find your own ideas and techniques, which looking too much at other people's ideas and techniques can lead you away from.
But I don't understand not wanting to read more.
You don't have to read a lot to be a writer. But surely there's got to be some love of the written word... shouldn't there?
Bit of a tangent, but you using the acronym DDN has at last made we realise that his name is demesne de noir, domain of black, and not my butchered demesnedoir. Did a little forum search and it seems that I hold the record for "demesnedoir" misspellings, though I am not alone. Sorry Demesnedenoir, only took me eight years to realise thisI'm actually stunned at the number of non-readers or infrequent readers in this discussion.
I know DDN has been quite successful without being much of a reader but who else has been commercially published... or even self-published... without being much of a reader?
Not being judgmental... just interested.
I'm actually stunned at the number of non-readers or infrequent readers in this discussion.
I know DDN has been quite successful without being much of a reader but who else has been commercially published... or even self-published... without being much of a reader?
Not being judgmental... just interested.
I think I’m around fifty years behind you, if I remember correctly…but as a fellow reader I would have thought It would be like trying to write in an echo chamber. I feel I’ve seen that a few times on here with critique requests, and I can often hear that person trying to talk in their heads of what a written story should sound like.In response to the foregoing, I would say that a good foundation of books that you read because you liked them is a great boon when constructing a variety of characters and plots. There is, I believe, a danger inherent in writing entirely sui generis in that everything begins to sound and feel like the writer. Imagine being trapped in an elevator or a train compartment with no one to talk to but yourself.
so true. I think Sartre was wrong. Hell isn't other people, it's being trapped inside talking to yourself.I think I’m around fifty years behind you, if I remember correctly…but as a fellow reader I would have thought It would be like trying to write in an echo chamber. I feel I’ve seen that a few times on here with critique requests, and I can often hear that person trying to talk in their heads of what a written story should sound like.
Maybe it’s like wanting to be an architect without ever having an interest in buildings, or an artist without appreciating art, or a musician without enjoying listening to music. You could be compelled to tell a story without having an interest in reading, but what drives you to want to be a writer without having an interest in reading?
and other peopleso true. I think Sartre was wrong. Hell isn't other people, it's being trapped inside talking to yourself.