As a writer, how much time do you spend reading? Do you feel it's important to read a lot to be able to write effectively?
And if you do read a lot, does what you read influence your writing style?
I used to read a lot. I learned how to read at 5, by the time I was 10 I was reading novels, not kids books, classics mostly. I've always loved reading, so yes, I do read quite a lot. I don't read as a writing resource though, mostly just for the love of the written word. I read about things I would probably never write about, but in some ways it does inspire me and it influences my writing style in subtle ways.
I have to admit though, that I haven't done much reading over the last year, most of what I've read are online stories and e-zine stories.
“Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.”
I'm a voracious reader. I always have my nose in my kindle(smiles). I think reading is a huge influence on writing for certain things like vocabulary,writing styes,certain ideas etc. The type of books one reads are going to influence the type of stories you write. When I'm writing in a certain genre I buy some books in that genre to help me write. I find that I can see where I'm going wrong with a storyline based on what I'm reading of theirs.
I love to read. Growing up, it was the one activity that kept me quiet for several hours at a time. Although I have a big library, I maybe read about 20 of the books on my shelf and I have several boxes more full of books, 4 on my nightstand, and one in my bag for reading on the train as I'm heading to school and work. I'm still not convinced enough to get a Kindle or an e-reader. I rather have something physical in my hands that I can hold. Speaking of which, I need to visit a few used bookstores for this one book in particular.
Aside from writing, I do also love to read books with different genre. I spend hours on reading those. The time span actually varies with my mood and how tired I am the whole day. But I make it sure that I could finish reading that book within a couple of days because I do also attend to other errands at home.
The primary reasons why I read books are to increase my vocabulary, to be able to inspire myself to write more beautifully and to be able to get notes the author’s writing style.
With my first drafts of writing I am really influence by how the author writes his book. But now I am trying to use my own style, at least.
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