Monday, December 7, 2009

Reading and Writing...

I just realized I haven't blogged since last Wednesday! This is such a busy time of year.

So....

I've been absent for two reasons: Christmas shopping/decorating and--

I have been trying to make my way through 1000 pages of Stephen King's latest novel, Under The Dome. Now, I am normally a very slow reader because I have a thing about trying to read every single word, really absorbing each one so I don't miss anything important. However, when I'm pressed for time, I'm apt to skip over some words or even passages in order to get to the finish line. As it happens, my three sisters and I split the cost of this novel we're all planning to read, one at a time. I got to go first. So I really want to finish reading as quickly as possible so they can have their turn. It's so frustrating to have to keep the plot to myself. And some questions have arisen as I've read along that I can't ask my sisters since they haven't started reading yet.

As a reader, I'm enjoying this novel as the plot unfolds and I'm getting to know the characters. As a writer, I'm trying to pay attention to the sentence structure, word choices, POV, plot development, and so on. I'm hoping to learn from King. In the past, I always read his novels simply from a reader's perspective.

So with all this in mind, I raise two questions here:

1. Do YOU read novels as both a reader AND a writer?
and

2. Do YOU sometimes skip over words/passages in order to finish a novel faster?

7 comments:

  1. 1. Since I started writing, I have noticed that I sometimes de-construct the things I read.
    For the most part, I don't mind it (and it does help my writing), but sometimes it'll pull me completely out of a story, and I hate that.

    2. I never skip when I read, and if I realise I've missed a section somehow I'll go back and read it. :)

    Adam

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  2. I'm not as impressed with books as I used to be before I started writing. It's kind of a tragedy really, but I can't go back and change it now. I try to turn off the writer in me when reading, but it's hard.

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  3. Yes to both. And I'm so excited about this book! I haven't read it yet, but want to. Will definitely once I can finagle my way around the new, hard cover price.

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  4. I read as both a reader and a writer. It's hard to turn off the writer in me when I'm reading. Sometimes I'll read specifically as a writer to study how an author is doing something.

    I don't generally skip anything. If I find myself wanting to skip passages I usually end up just not finishing the book. Doesn't happen too often.

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  5. 1. As a writer, you read a novel with a writer's mind. Like Faulkner said, read even trash so you learn not to write trashy stuff. Besides, if one day you find yourself read with a reader's mind, then quit being a writer.

    2. Like watching a movie that hits a snag, skip slack sections in a novel and read for drama. If most of the sections are slack, go back to Barnes & Noble and return the book for a full refund.

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  6. Thanks, everybody!

    Janna: My sister bought this hardcover book for about $24.00. With a four-way split, I only had to pay $6.00.

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  7. I agree with the people who read both as a writer and a reader, though it's especially fun when I shift totally back in to the reader phase.

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