Why Authors (should) Read

There were times in the past, when I couldn’t read other authors books because I’d be intimidated. Usually this was when I was feeling insecure about myself, my writing, or where I was in my career. People used to say to me, you have to read. Reading helps your writing. These days, when all I do in my free time is read, I can honestly say YES! This is so true. Of course, I read because I love to – I’ve always been a reader – and I love reading romance. The genre type may vary but I always read for my happy ending. But today, I was on the treadmill reading, when something came to me – about my own work in progress. It’s interesting – and it’s not an idea that I want to copy nor would I – but an author was delving into a character and their motivation, their past, and I thought to myself, THIS IS WHAT’S MISSING with my story. It gives me such a rush to get those realizations and to dig deeper into my characters. And I’m definitely not ashamed to say another author gave me the idea to do it!

I don’t know – I thought I’d share that little tidbit with you – it’s important for authors to read not just for pleasure, but to keep their creative brain flowing. And sadly, I have no brilliant question to ask you as a follow up … so I hope you’ll comment and talk to me anyway!