Novel All great writers are great readers

I read a quote about one famous author's daily routine:
"I write 2 pages. And then I read and read and read."

And I was wondering how relevant this was to everyone. I see writing a novel as a project, and 'reading novels' as the research, since they are guidelines on what make great novels so great. So I'd just like to ask:

-How many pages do you write everyday

-How many books do you read (per year, per week etc.)

BONUS Q: How many books did you read by the time you were 20 years old

Thanks for the feedback

 

I usually sit down once a week and get ~6 pages done over the course of a couple of hours or so.
Sadly I average a book a month, if even that.

I do suppose if I ever took to seriously writing a novel or story, I would buy as many books of similar genre and read my heart out.
But for non-fiction and commentaries on life, I just stick to my experiences for research

 

I write aproximately 500 words every day. Some days I write a thousand, some not at all, but it evens out to around 500. I dont read every day either, but when I read, I will often spend 3-4 hours of a day just plowing through page after page. Took me about 3 weeks to finish reading A feast for Crows, which was the last book I read, about 900 pages, which is like 40 pages a day.

 

I try to write or edit a thousand words a day. Even if I'm not in the mood I just remind myself that writing crap is better than writing nothing at all.

Also, I try to read at least 50 books a year (this is my third).

Side note: I think Stephen King suggested reading 80 books a year (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), which I suppose would be better than 50.

 

On average, I'd say I write about a few hundred words a day, and I read about a book a week.

 

I barely read surprisingly but I write like a madman!

 

I can't imagine somebody wanting to write who doesn't enjoy reading! That's like somebody wanting to play the guitar who doesn't like music.

If you read a lot, you will acquire a 'feel' for how a story should work. You'll also be more aware of grammar, spelling etc, and while you might not be able to cite the 'rules,' you will develop a sense of what's right and what's not.

However, I think that reading while you're in the middle of a writing project of your own, can be distracting. I know when I'm deep in the middle of writing a story, I really don't want to read other people's stories just then. However, I've been a reader all my life, routinely have several books on the go at one time, and my house resembles a library. I do think reading and writing are two halves of the same whole.

 

I think reading something like 80 books a year can be too much. If you're not processing what you're reading, what's the point?

I'm not writing anything consistently right now. I'm still working out the details as it is a big plot but when I do write it can be 2000-3000 words a day or more. I started reading about a year ago and last year I read 29 books and am now on my 3rd for this year.

 

At least 1000 words a day. Books, varies depending on length, but I read a lot.

 

I need to read more. I graduate uni in april, so that is my goal. Read. more. books. Very important. A writer who doesn't read is like.... a cook who doesn't eat!

 

...depends on what i'm working on and i never keep track of page or word count per day, though i wrote my first script [122 pages] in 10 days, so that came out to only 12 pages per day, but it takes longer to write in the requisite format, than it does to write straight prose... when working on a major project [book/screenplay] i've been known to work 18-20 hours/day for weeks... forgetting to stop to eat, if no one puts food in front of my face...

...i can read and have read a couple in one day... nowadays am way down in reading, since i'm busy mentoring aspiring writers and writing/editing for clients most of the day, every day of the week, so only get through about one per week, reading a bit before going to sleep... but i only read for pleasure now, don't need to read for any other reason, unless i'm doing research for a project...

...too many to count, but certainly thousands, since i was reading everything i could get my hands on ever since i first learned to read [around age 4]... and by age 9 was taking as many as i could carry from the library twice a week... i've been reading at about 50 pages/hour since that age, so can finish a 300 page book in 6 hours...

 

I try to write 1 page a day, however with reading, I am far behind on that.

I recently read two fantasy science fiction romance novels and a political opinion book. I am wanting to read and buy more books but my budget is tight right now.

 

i try to write 1000 - 1500 words a day on top of editing/rewriting last night's effort - I've just started my second or third book in a year....

 

I agree with the premise you presented here.

I started out as a voracious reader before 20, then got heavy into biographies for a long time. Today I don't write on a routine, and maybe I should. I read sporadically; again, I should do better.

But yes I agree that reading is a part of writing. Good post.

 

I'd say I have the problem where I read too much and write too little. Working on correcting that right now...

 

Hard to answer the question on how much I write per day... If I count roleplaying, and school discussion posts...Umm... At least 500 words a day, maybe more? Plus likely two 1000 word essays every week... I can easily type 2-3k words in roleplay a day, but I don't always get a day to do some serious roleplaying. I don't write on a routine for my own stories, although I am thinking about starting to do so. I really need to work on my writing.

As for how many books I read...Hm. Depends. Some times I don't read much for several weeks/months at a time. Other times, I down 3 to 10 books a week. One year, in high school, I read something like 800+ books in total. The next year, I think I averaged around 300 or so? Now that I have less time, I am lucky if I finish a full 100 books a year, although most of those are re-reads, books I've read three or four times before. (Or in the case of some of my favorite books, three or four times that year.) A lot of the books I read are actually manga volumes, so I go through a few of them a day. Well, I did, back in high school. Now I'm lucky if I read any manga in a month. Anyway, yeah.

I think I read about 100 novels a year. On average.

 

My schedule is determined, in part, by my actual real job. I just got back from a trip to Georgia in which I didn't write at all because there just wasn't time. This sort of thing happens.

When I'm home and on a project, I write about 500 to 1000 words per day. I've gone as high as 2000, but I don't think I've ever hit 3000. I find that the more I write per day, the worse it gets, so it takes more editing and rewriting.

I read almost all the time. When I was a stupid high school kid, I was a speed reader. I actually read books about speed reading, and practiced, and got to the point where I could read fifty pounds of sheer literature in an hour. (Obviously that's not true.) I eventually learned that stupidly plowing through as many books as possible in a week wasn't benefiting me at all. I realized that the goal is not to read as much as possible, but to read as well as possible. I started reading as if I valued what I was reading. I started understanding the beauty of language. I started seeing subtleties I'd never seen before, and I went back and reread some of the books I'd speed-read before.

I read a lot, as I said, but I don't count the number of books, stories, articles, newspaper pieces, technical stuff, etc. that I go through in a week or a month. I read a lot for pleasure and I read a lot for work. I read a lot. I learn from all of it.

 

I'm in a bad bad wrong writing slump; I haven't written a word of fiction in weeks, and most of my writing of any kind is "communication" writing - forum posts, long emails, nothing of any permanence, not even much in the way of blog posts. I am probably writing several hundred words a day, but they're not words that I value.

I need to somehow grab myself by the collar and force myself to write. I know what's going on - what I want to write about is stuff that I don't want to write anything permanent about - but I don't know how to fix it.

Between fifty and eighty a year. I'm including books that I re-read that year.

Bazillions. OK, OK, to do the math: We went to the library at least twice a month, and I got at least five books each time, and read them, usually within two or three days. I re-read those books until the next trip to the library, and also read what was in the house and what I could scrounge at the school library. So, at least 6 books X twice a month X 12 months X 7 years from age seven to age fourteen (on the vague remembrance that I had less time for reading in high school and college) equals at least a thousand books before high school. That's only if I didn't re-read. I did plenty of re-reading, but I also read lots of books from age fourteen to twenty, and some before age seven, and sometimes we went to the library every week, so...I'm just going to go with "several hundred". Possibly a few thousand.

I'm not clear on what you mean by "processing". Analyzing and critiqueing, writing reviews, taking notes, essentially treating the book as an academic assignment? Or something else?

Me, I read a book, I enjoy the book, and when I'm done with the book I want another book. I don't pause for any sort of analytical breather between books. For me, "the point" of reading is primarily enjoyment.

 

My lord. If I were to look up the word pretentious in the dictionary this post should be the example.

 

I write...probably 500 words a day when I get on a roll. Reading...a year I finish probably 10 books. I don't have time for any more! I think reading is good for a writer. Not vital. But highly recommended!

 

So what word should I use? You are presenting yourself close to that category. It's close.

How about conceited? Whatever it is it makes me feel ill.

 

Why should I read your drivel and not expect you to read mine?