finding it hard to read literature written by others than myself

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by slippingbeauty, Jan 11, 2012.

  1. Ziggy Stardust

    Ziggy Stardust Active Member

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    Try reading some non-fiction. Those endings should be harder to be dissatisfied with, as they actually happened. ;)
     
  2. slippingbeauty

    slippingbeauty New Member

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    this sounds an awful lot like susanna clarke?:p
     
  3. slippingbeauty

    slippingbeauty New Member

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    hehe:) Yes that is true, but the real world doesnt fascinate me that much:p haha
     
  4. hoggyboy

    hoggyboy New Member

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    who is susanna clarke? :D might need to give her a read then haha
     
  5. slippingbeauty

    slippingbeauty New Member

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    hehe yes! hey maybe Ive actually read that triology cause it seems so familiar:O or then again perhaps it is only similar:p I think the book it reminds me of is jonathan strange and mr norrell by susanna clarke there are also demons and magicians:) if I havent read that triology already maybe I would actually like it!
     
  6. hoggyboy

    hoggyboy New Member

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    should give it a read then...while I indulge in some "jonathan strange and mr norrell" by susan clarke ;)
     
  7. Balmarog

    Balmarog New Member

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    Maybe you're being too analytical about what you're reading instead of just giving yourself over to the story? I could see how that could ruin some books.
     
  8. Kallithrix

    Kallithrix Banned

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    Snap. I was gonna say Virginia Woolf is one of those pretentious and overrated authors, but I've never actually made it even halfway through one of her books. Blah.

    Sylvia Plath though... Bell Jar was disturbning as hell and I can't remember anything about it except her trying to top herself, but her poetry is amazing.
     
  9. Jhunter

    Jhunter Mmm, bacon. Contributor

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    I cant relate to this at all. :(

    I absolutely love reading books from my favorite authors, and I equally love finding new authors to love just as much. :D

    But, at the same time, I understand what you are saying. My writing is completely different than what I read as well. I just happen to still like reading all the other stuff out there that isn't like my work.

    I guess it is because I focus on my stuff day-in-and-day-out that I want a reprieve from my style with my favorite authors work.

    I hope some of that made sense and or helped any at all. :confused:
     
  10. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    It sounds to me like part of the problem is that you have a "work ethic" while reading - you're trying to actively and consciously learn from it, or criticize it. To me, that will almost guarantee that you won't enjoy reading.

    It also sounds like you're going to two extremes - the classics and the stuff that you find at the grocery.

    The exercise that I'd suggest is: Find fun junk that you enjoy. Maybe there is no such thing, but I doubt that - I've never known anyone yet who truly enjoys _only_ the finest food, the finest music, the finest literature, the finest movies. Everyone I've ever known has had some guilty pleasures, some junk that they love. So I'd suggest going to a very well-stocked bookstore (a used bookstore, depending on your budget, or a library with a good fiction section) and spending some time reading the first paragraphs of a wide, wide variety of ordinary novels.

    When a first paragraph engages you, poke through the book a little and see if that engaging style continues. If it seems to, or you think it might, buy or check out the book and force yourself to read the whole thing, whether or not you think you're learning from it. Abandon the work ethic, _reject_ the work ethic, and just try to enjoy.

    Another exercise could be to find some fun or engaging non-fiction to read, assuming that your writing goal is fiction. Maybe reading something that's less related to your goals would allow you to "let go" of that work ethic and start to enjoy reading again.

    If you're interested, I can post my "fun junk" or, also, "fun high quality" authors and books, but of course that's my taste and you need to find what appeals to your taste. Again, not what teaches you, not what improves you, but what you actually enjoy.

    ChickenFreak
     
  11. slippingbeauty

    slippingbeauty New Member

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    Thanks everyone:) Yes I guess I am too conscious while reading, maybe already have some scepticism before even starting to read. I think like u say ChickenFreak that starting with some easy read fantasy thats not really claiming to be anything more than a fantasy story would be a good idea:) so I'll get around to that... but first I have promised my friend to read a book she has... she gave it to me to borrow and I have to start soon :S wish me luck!
     
  12. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    I think I have the opposite problem. I don't really care to read my own stuff once it's done.

    But books by my favourite authors? Absolutely.

    That's what also gives me new inspiration to write.
     
    1 person likes this.
  13. joanna

    joanna Active Member

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    This was my first thought as well. Sometimes I read books that aren't up to my standards and I'm critiquing them as I'm reading, which I may learn from -- but it's not an enjoyable reading experience. I may even start to get irritated, thinking, how did this get published?

    I like ChickenFreak's suggestions. Another idea is to try reading short stories. There are short story collections at bookstores -- just pick something up and get a feel for it before you commit to anything. You can get collections by a single author or multiple authors. My favorites are Tobias Wolff and Joyce Carol Oates.
     
  14. Steve89

    Steve89 New Member

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    I think reading should be a pastime, and I agree with a lot of people posting on this thread when they say you should seperate your writing from your reading. Why don't you try to read a genre that you think you would never write, so you don't constantly think about the conventions of that genre as you read.

    I would definately try to just relax when you read, and enjoy the story you are being told by another author. Then after you have read the book, you can think, or talk to friends about the things you would have done differently.
     
  15. architectus

    architectus Banned

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    Slipping, do you watch movies?

    The reason I ask is because they are far more predictable than books, for the very reason they follow a set out structure by Hollywood because it works. After I learned this structure very well, it kind of ruined movies for me for a while. Then I learned to shut that analytical side of me off and just enjoy movies again.

    I try not to have any expectations for what I want from the ending, whether books or movies. This helps.

    But if you watch movies or TV shows, then I doubt the problem you have with books is what you think.
     
  16. slippingbeauty

    slippingbeauty New Member

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    architectus: the thing about movies is that I do not make movies:p and there is a lot that can catch my eye in a movie. I watch movies for different reasons, I do love unique movies that do not fall under the characteristic which you mentioned, a lot of europeian movies are like this for instance, but then every once in a while I can use a really bad hollywood movie if I actually need to get more stupid, like after Ive been studying for an exam or something haha
    For me movies are also different because I dont have to spend alot of my time listening to the message in the movie as I have to when it comes to books. I guess my time is just very precious to me:)
     
  17. bethklewis

    bethklewis New Member

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    Why do you think you'll be disappointed by the ending of a book? Because a few books in the past have disappointed you? That's akin to saying 'I once bit into a rotten apple, I won't eat apples again'. Bit silly maybe? How do you know you'll be disappointed by the ending of a story if you don't read the ending?

    I understand the whole reading a book and wondering how the hell it ever got on the shelves (Twilight anyone?). I also understand reading a book and noticing glaring continuity/spelling/grammar/syntax errors, but stopping almost every book you read half-way through because you think you will be disappointed by the end so will make your own up, is almost insulting to the author. Then stopping reading altogether because you don't think any writer can live up to your expectations is, unfortunately, very arrogant.

    I suggest you read more widely and force yourself to finish at least a few books. The ending of a book is the culmination of 300 pages of hard work, it's an important part of the writing process. You never know, you could learn something about writing an ending.
     
  18. jazzabel

    jazzabel Agent Provocateur Contributor

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    This is really interesting! I experienced something similar. I taught myself to read when I was 3 (or so they say) and my whole childhood I was an avid reader. I read all the classics but much of modern literature, and at some point I started running out of things to read precisely for the same reason as you said - most books I would pick up fell short of previous ones I read. Then I went to University, nothing to do with writing but extremely difficult and lengthy course. I simply did not have the brain space or time to read, actually, I had to assimilate so much information that I used to say that I "became allergic to the written word". Then, in another weird and wonderful but totally sucky at the same time turn of events in my life, I got the opportunity to chill out and within weeks, short stories started pouring out of me. And for several years I was totally into my own writing and I couldn't bear the thought of being disappointed by someone else's book. But eventually I started to feel like I exceeded the limits of what I can figure out for myself. First I started to read stuff about writing and then moved onto reading some books that I know were great but I never got around to reading and now I can't imagine not reading anymore. Maybe when I am writing really actively I won't want to read much, but overall, I think that feeling of not wanting to read was a psychological block and it was hurting my writing, so I'm glad it's over :)
    Having said that, I am extremely picky with the books I read because there is so much substandard fiction out there, it's easy to feel very disappointed after reading some of it. If I don't like a book, I'll leave it.
     
  19. stvn

    stvn New Member

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    You sound like one of those very impatient and intolerant people. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm like this myself. I get bored extremely easily. I also have an "either/or" personality; either something is brilliant or it sucks. In some ways I think it's a good thing. You're always searching, never satisfied. Other people will sit through movies that are clearly mediocre at best, but I'll turn them off and find something else to do.

    One thing I have learned though, is that very little in life is perfect. It's just the state of mind you inhabit at a particular time that makes you think it is. For example, 5 years ago I might have thought that X was awesome. Then I grew and matured and found that it was derivative, formulaic, trite, awful, etc. But X has't changed, just my perspective has. Hell I can even look at myself/my own writing/ideas of less that two years ago and feel embarrassed about it.

    Really I think what it comes down to is a perfectionist attitude. It's not a bad thing. I would say it's a virtue in a lot of ways. But it's also good to be aware of your personality type so, you know, you don't feel like you're going insane and stuff.
     
  20. Metus

    Metus New Member

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    I don't neccessarily think that the original poster is being arrogant. As I've gotten better at writing, I find that I can't stomach books written for young adults any more. I notice far too often how shallow everything is. (Of course, maybe that's just a result of me getting older. . . ) Now, as for books written for adults, some of them are as good as I remember from the first time I read them, and others now seem to have many flaws. They're a mix.

    I have no doubt that training yourself to spot flaws in your own writing during editing is equally good practice for spotting them in someone else's. On the other hand, to not like anything that you read seems to indicate that you've conditioned yourself to only like your style of writing- and that doesn't sound very healthy.
     
  21. Yoshiko

    Yoshiko Contributor Contributor

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    It sounds to me like you're reading the wrong types of books. Just because it appeals to a mainstream audience doesn't mean it'll appeal to you too.

    Personally, I go onto websites like Amazon, Wikipedia & Goodreads and search for keywords until I find something that sticks out. Then I look up reviews/excerpts before deciding to purchase it.
     
  22. hootertooter

    hootertooter New Member

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    I didn't read the whole topic, but I have one thing to say that the first twenty posts or so don't:

    Don't let guessing the ending stop you from finishing a story. I've come up with some nifty story ideas from guessing that the storyteller would go a different way than he/she ended up going. Just to give you an idea of what I mean: I've jotted down scene ideas for a romance novel based on saying the right things in all those situations where Ray Romano, Tim Allen, etc. say dumb things in sitcoms.
     
  23. jonsnana

    jonsnana New Member

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    As my life gets more complex my reading gets less so. I read the classics when younger, enjoyed some and hated others. Since I wanted to write mysteries or sci-fi it didn't occur to me to try to rewrite those books. I have a busier life now and my reading time is so precious that I reserve it for authors that create stories that I can lose myself in. I look hard for these. Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my favorites. David Drake, Robert Asprin, David Weber, all create different worlds different characters, different world views, all have a quirky sense of humor. It seems that you are short changing yourself by not seeing that you have matured and graduated to a different level of reading. You may also need to see if you are relaxing enough to enjoy the author's story, or if you are missing the story because of their writing style. If you are reading what is available in our local stores you are reading romances. They are like candy for the brain...full of calories, empty of substance and likely to make you ill if you over-indulge.
     
  24. topeka sal

    topeka sal New Member

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    Ok... I'll have a go...

    **WARNING: what follows is merely armchair psychology. It's not meant to diagnose or offend. Take it with whatever skepticism seems necessary.**

    Maybe the problem isn't "arrogance" so much as fear. This doesn't explain your impatience to make your own endings, but it may explain some over-arching problem. At times I become uncomfortable reading books/poems/stories that are not my own but I think this stems from discomfort with my own writing, not the other authors'. And this can happen whether I admire the writer in question or think the writing is crap. Comparison is always difficult, and usually unhealthy. If you find you are intolerant of any writing but your own you may be overcompensating for some form of insecurity. Just a thought.

    Another theory (one I think other some posters here are in essence proposing) is that you are suffering from a narcissistic attitude which is rendering you incapable of experiencing the work of others except through the lens of yourself. In other words, whatever you encounter "out there" is immediately (and probably without your control) being referred back to "you". If this rings true at all, I'd ask yourself about your relationships with other external bodies: friends, family, your work, etc. If you see a pattern of defensiveness or perhaps misunderstandings based on a tendency to paranoia and the fact that everything seems to relate back to you, you may want to address the problem.

    Again, these are just a couple of thoughts. My feeling is that even if you are some kind of writing genius you should still be able to enjoy the efforts of other writers. They are not you. They are unique. What other people write can only come from their own unique voice/perspective/approach. That's why literature is important. It allows us to occupy the brains and sensibilities of people other than ourselves. You are missing something if you cant allow yourself this pleasure.
     

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