I should be reading - #MFRWauthor

So here we are in week 6 of the #MFRWauthor blog challenge. This week is all about hobbies. We need those right, to make us well rounded people. Get us out of our writing caves and hopefully interacting with real life people instead of the fictional ones in our heads.
I feel like I should say reading if I want to be a 'self-respecting' author. I've often heard, if you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write. Reading is not only for pleasure, but it's research. It can be a teaching tool to help us better our craft.
One of my goals for 2017 is to do just that, read more. I'm taking part in the Goodreads reading challenge to help track my progress. I have my handy tablet with both my Nook and Kindle reading apps. I'm all set.

My biggest issue is going on download sprees but never actually reading the books I bought. Most of them are $0.99 specials so it's not like I'm spending huge chunks of money when I do this, but still I need to be less wasteful in that regard. Even though I do have plenty of books already downloaded, when I started the challenge, I downloaded more. Most of my library on both apps are full of romance or erotica books and I wanted to expand my genre pool, so new books were needed. 
Reading isn't my main hobby, gaming is. More specifically playing The Sims 3 PC game. Yes, yes more fictional characters, but it has made me social online. I've connected with others that enjoy the game. As I mentioned in last week's post, I met one of my closest friends through this game. Most importantly, playing this game renewed my love of writing and set me on the path I'm on today.

There is an entire community of simmers that write what's known as SimLit. Stories brought to life and illustrated using the characters you create in this game. Being part of this community is where the idea for my debut book was born. It was a challenge as part of a forum I was part of, to put an adult spin on our favorite fairytale. I chose Beauty and The Beast, and so Fiendish was born. 
As a writer, this is a great platform because you can bring your characters to life. You have a visual aide to use for your characters. Your imagination can run wild while in control of their world. So many possibilities, limited only by your own creativity.  As a writer, inspiration can come from anywhere, this game serves as another source for me.
I still write stories on this platform and foresee continuing to do so for a long time. It's how I relax and have fun, plus it keeps the creative juices flowing. 
Do your hobbies inspire your writing? If so, how?
Thanks for stopping by~Meka
Be sure to check out other authors on the blog hop.