Not reading (much) of what you write about

Just posing a question that may or may not have been asked before:

Do you ever find yourself writing stuff that you dont really read that much?

Im still in my science non-fiction binge. It seems like now, everything that interests me has been non-fiction. Im reading Gory Details: Adventures From The Dark Side of Science by Engelhaupt, and i have Social Instinct on my waitlist.
I cant remember the last science FICTION book i've picked up (at least, in my sub genre).
Or a fantasy book like my WIP.

I realize its going to be harder to query agents when i dont really know the answer to "what books are most like your own?" (And variations of that question), but im at a point where im more interested in reading everything BUT SF/F (and i have 2 sf/f checked out that i was really interested in.... But i cant seem to pull myself into reading them).

Is this burn out?

 

I think you could be hobbling yourself because each genre/sub genre/niche has its own expectations and they also change over time, certain aspects trending during certain decades/years. If you aren't well read in your genre, particularly what is popular currently, you won't know what the standard expectations are and could be writing "off market".

Reading similar stuff should be treated more like research instead of purely pleasure. Aka you need to do it whether it's your preferred genre or not, it's work.

 

Burn out? Not necessarily. I don't read fantasy much; I'd rather write it and read something else. When faced with "what books are most like your own?" I did research online to see which books contain similar elements to mine, bought half a dozen secondhand paperback copies of the same, skimmed through them to see which were most pertinent, then scribbled the titles down in the proper little box. Could also check them out of the library, but for a dollar or two apiece, what the heck- it's reference material.

For example, one story involves a male person on a quest to fulfill tasks to win the lady and the kingdom, then changes his mind about wanting either during the course of the quest. I put Stardust down as being like my book because it's the story of a male person on a quest to fulfill a task to win a lady, if not a kingdom, and who ends up changing his mind about what he wants. Beyond that, the stories have little or nothing in common.

Hope that helps. It took me twenty years to figure it out, but I'm kinda slow.

 

Forget the prime beef, sir. You need chocolate.

 

I mean, i still read quite a bit.
Im 1 book away from finishing a victorian paranormal series.... But i dont write victorian paranormal

And i have a lot of thriller on my "to-read" list, which is weird because i was never in to them in the past. Also a genre i have no interest in writing.

 

Honey, you send me your mailing address and I'll put half my chocolate bar in the U.S. mail to you tomorrow. I got it at the convenience store this afternoon and haven't even opened it. Mail from Wyoming to Rhode Island shouldn't take more than two or three weeks.

 

It sounds like procrastination rather than burn out. Burn out is when you are overworked and cannot be bothered to do it anymore. A lack of motivation due to stress and pressure. Usually i would be telling you to take a step back and take time away from it, but you mentioned you already have.

So I think it's probably more a motivational issue due to some other problem. You need to identify why you are not wanting to read fantasy books anymore. But for your WIP you'd have to find a way to address it.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with reading a lot of nonfiction, it's a good healthy habit. You broaden your horizons and deepen your understanding of the world and people and how they interact. This is what's known as developing your inner world, which can be done through reading many varied kinds of materials, as well as getting some experience in different places and cultures. Good rich writing depends on having a well-developed inner world or what's known as a mental library. You don't really develop that by reading a small range of genres. In fact if I were interested in writing fantasy I'd be looking deeply into fairy tales and mythology, where fantasy originated from. Go to the sources. Delve deep into areas that interest you, whatever those may be, so you're not copying from copies of copies. I tend toward the practical philosophies and psychology and the ancient world and the Western classics. I mean classics of the Western world, not the Western genre.

I'm afraid if you just keep reading the same kinds of stories you'll be stuck in a very narrow channel and write stuff that sounds too similar. Though it's definitely a good idea to at least touch base now and then to see what's going on in the publishing industry in your genres.

 

When I find a thirty pound chocolate bar with a minimum of 60% cacao, you'll be the guy I go halvsies with. My husband won't mind. He prefers milk chocolate. Yeah, he's a Philistine, but I love him anyway.

 

Milk chocolate is a horror that's for sure. Good on you for looking after that poor soul.

I never really liked the taste of chocolate all too much, but I don't mind some dark chocolate when the fancy hits me. Though I never had chocolate with too much cocoa in it, I wonder if I'd rather much prefer a lump of cocoa over chocolate or what that would even taste like...

 

This never occurred to me!
My WIP (the science fiction one) was partly inspired by the way Sharon Shinn weaved religion/spirituality into her books. The whole "what is god" philosophy and what not. Even the angels and fictional peoples of Samaria are based off of religious peoples. For example, the Jansai are based off of Muslims and the islamic faith. The Edori seem like they were based off of the Jews.

Anyways... Religion and spirituality has been an interest of mine since i've questionee everything thing in Catholicism, so ive read Parallel Myths (Bierlien) and of course various Greek myths and philosophies, and social science books, which kinda rooted itself in my SciFi.


Didnt think about how non-fiction played a role in my writing.....

 

Tolkien of course took heavy inspiration from Norse mythology. And Lovecraft took inspiration from umm... OK, I think he made all his stuff up. And he didn't really write fantasy, at least not high fantasy. Though he may well have written his fantasy high. That would explain a lot...