I often write a lot about, well, writing…but the flip side of that coin is reading. I’ve always been an avid reader, but as I work on my own stuff, balance the kids and work and all that, carving out time to get through a book, or multiple books, can be a bit tough. Still, I always carry my Kindle with me, and when I have a few free minutes I make sure I get through some pages.
And the truth is,my writing needs that reading – in many ways, reading someone else’s work recharges my own batteries. When I finish a particularly good book, or read even just one really good sentence™, it gets my naturally competitive juices flowing. I find that if I read the night before, the following morning my writing is far more energized – I’m eager to get to it, ready to do battle with the blank page again. I know that the book I just read was at one point no different than my own, no more than a few ideas stitched together, a few random sentences on the back of envelopes; a remembered conversation that sparked an idea that wouldn’t quite die out.
I enjoy reading a really good book, because it makes me want to write a really great one of my own.
Speaking of good books, I recommend The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman. It’s fantastic, and I’ve since picked up a couple others of his.
I’ll be reading through one tonight
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