Read As If Your Writing Depended On It - It Does

It's hard to believe I haven't posted since July 2, but life and writing have continued at a fast pace. After a week in Idyllwild's Fiction Writing this summer, I actually went back to my novel. I should say I re-began my novel and have been at it ever since. Now in the middle of a UCLA novel class with Mark Sarvas, it's all beginning to make sense. His insistence on our reading as a writer has opened up ideas and the realization of how much deeper I have to go with my characters. Reading a book a week is a big commitment but it does pay off. At least in the thinking about the writing. I strongly recommend it. In some cases it may take more than one reading to really understand the author's process, but even in the first read, you begin to see how your own exposition was really superfluous and the scene needs more action or the  backstory should be dispersed where it's necessary and not just a ramble through the character's history. 1