1. Dracon

    Dracon Contributor Contributor

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    How has writing changed the way you read?

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Dracon, Jun 5, 2018.

    I'd be interested to hear how your views have changed since starting to write. Since on reflection, I have noticed a lot of change in what I read now since I started writing. It's not quite true that writing has completely ruined the reading experience for me, but the certainly changed it a lot. How has it changed the way that you look at novels, and have your reading tastes changed?

    I have noticed that I have much less patience than I used to. I have no problems reading doorstoppers and prefer reading series than standalones, but I have no tolerance for slow starts. There are epic fantasies that I probably would have loved five years ago that I just can't get past the first few chapters because they're all prologue or they're so slow (Think farmboy in his village going about daily life).

    Consequently, whereas it was extremely rare that I didn't finish a book I started, now I do it all the time. I even stopped 3/4 of the way through once because while it started off interesting, by the middle it felt like I was running through treacle and the plot was still fairly disconnected. Maybe part of this is possibly also my own personal indignation that some writers are able to get away with this just by virtue of being well-known, whereas I (unpublished) would not. Maybe this is something some audiences still like to read (maybe I did once), but my opinions have changed, and I just don't think it's acceptable anymore.

    Also, I have lost interest in fantasy with a heavy magical basis. I think that's mostly down to my current WiPs, which are focused on a fictional world with a late antiquity setting that doesn't contain any magic. If there is magic, then it either doesn't dominate or is based off a system that is very simple and/or easy to understand.

    Also, I think my reading speed has slowed down a lot. Not necessarily because I'm analysing every single word, but I'm just a bit more attentive than I ever was as a reader-only. I'm much more on the alert for the "show, not tell" and certainly I 'notice' a lot more than I used to, even if I think I still can be a bit oblivious at times.
     
  2. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    I have developed three gears for reading.

    1. Enjoyment. I absolutely have the ability to mostly turn off the analytical part of my brain and just enjoy a good story. I've never had much of a tolerance for boring stories, though, even before I started to write. I have this weird anxiety that I could potentially live my entire life and never read my favorite book, so I don't spend a whole lot of time on books and stories that don't really draw me in.

    2. Scholastic education. This requires a little more analysis than the previous gear but not a whole lot more. I have to read a ton of books, articles, stories throughout the semester and write about them, so I've honed my ability to read for certain things, if that makes sense. I only pay attention to what I need to pay attention to.

    3. Reading as a writer. This is slow work, usually, and requires multiple reads. I do this with stories in the genre I like to write, with authors I respect and envy. I try to note sentence structure, word choice, pace, etc., etc. I read a story four times today because I love it so much and I want to know how she did what she did.

    So, no, writing hasn't ruined reading for me. I've just learned to read in a different way depending on my goal. I frequently read just to read, and it's important to me to be able to do that. Reading was fun before I started to write. I don't want to lose one of my greatest pleasures in life because I chose to pick up writing.
     
  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Writing has made it much harder for me to turn off my brain and just sink into a story. I was never great at reading uncritically, but I've gotten much worse.
     
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  4. DeeDee

    DeeDee Contributor Contributor

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    :superthink:Slowed me down :read: Now I occasionally stop and re-read passages, which takes more time. That's actually annoying :read2:
     
  5. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    I analyze what I read now. I'll be reading and think "Is this really necessary" or "This would've been better."
     
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  6. John Calligan

    John Calligan Contributor Contributor

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    I never understood how much I like character driven drama and romance until I felt like I needed to study it.

    Now I love it. Before, I mostly read plot heavy science fiction stories where I forget all the characters names, and sword and sorcery about stone cold killers.
     
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  7. Nariac

    Nariac Contributor Contributor

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    I do exactly this as well.
     
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  8. Lifeline

    Lifeline South. Supporter Contributor

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    Better question would be what hasn't changed? Nowadays I can't stand most books when I try to read for 'enjoyment', because I see what I'd do differently (from grammar to beats to plot to character development). That's not to say that these books would be bad or not worthy of reading, but I can't get over my inner editor. And I developed a taste for non-fiction books in a wide range of topics where prior to writing I'd been reading f/sf happily for the better part of fourty years. But live and learn. Writing definitely widened my horizon.
     
  9. Dreamer96

    Dreamer96 Member

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    [​IMG] Just a pic I found on Pinterest that describes me lol
     
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