I'm sure you think me quite strange - a writer who hates to read. It's not really the reading I hate, to be concise, it's the not being able to stop. When I had my first child, I put away books. I found I'd read into the early morning hours and be so exhausted I'd be stumbling as I cared for her. For my daughter's sake and my own, I eschewed books. The month after I broke my back, my daughter brought me a truckload of books. I recuperated 'watching' sword fights and dragon's teeth and chivalrous deeds. As I child, I'd been told I had no imagination. Tell that to my brain as I read book after book.
I found one such book today. It's Dragonswood and it's good. Here's a link to the author's blog and to her website. http://dreamwalks.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-01-17T10:50:00-08:00&max-results=20
http://www.janetleecarey.com/
I would warn you away from the book, but if I can't sleep, why should you? If I can't edit, why should you? And if I can't write, why should you?
Advisers like to tell upcoming writers to read. Don't take that advise too literally. I had a great time with this one and learned a lot - hence the advise. I had researched a medieval derogatory phrase awhile back for 'Blue' and found Carey (the above author) used it. It was fun to see. I like her dragons, too. Good description. Not a lot, but enough.
Life is full of dragons.
I learn a lot reading the work of others, what I like and what I don't, what trips me up and what sucks me in. :-)
ReplyDeleteTrips me up - a friend wrote the other day about how she can spend five minutes, while reading a book, figuring out a better way to write what the author meant. *g*
ReplyDeleteI haven't been reading much lately, but when I do, I am definitely one of those "read until it's unhealthy" people, because I can't stop. And that's even with stuff I've read before! Even when one stays up too late reading, though, I think there is still something to be gained from words passing into our brains -- even if they are tired from not enough sleep!
ReplyDeleteI thought you and I might be alike on this. There is always something to gain from every experience in this world - I just really need my sleep sometimes! *g*
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