Is reading and writing like drinking and driving?

[Dean]

I've started writing a new novel, but something else has been taking up my time: reading. Writing takes up a lot of my time but I also spend hours reading...so here is my two questions:

1/ Should you put away reading while you are writing?
2/ Does reading while writing directly influence the direction and style of your book?

[Michael]

They are two very different things, that are suitable for different times.

[Shaun]

It's easier to start with the second question.

Yes. Reading even while not writing will influence the style, direction and even the word choices you use. Is this a bad thing? Not at all. We learn as we read and write and the unique voice in our writing is always going to be our own experience mixed with the styles that we read.

To answer the first question, that depends on you. Some people would prefer to write without any outside distractions and will put away tv, reading or any other hobbies and devoting as much of their life as possible to the work at hand. Others will use reading as a way to step away from the work in the evenings or occasionally as a break.

If you're reading and writing though, and you find your current work slowly changing into a poor copy of the book you're reading, it might be a good idea to put that book down, or even to step away from your project. After all, if your vision is so cloudy as to be that easily thrown off course, it might not be a bad idea to step back and re-evaluate where your story is and where you want it to be.

[Dean]

But for me it takes about a year to write and complete a novel. So thats a year without reading every time.

[E.M. Abel]

I've struggled with this too. I have specific times during the day that I read and specific times that I write. I find it helps me get into the right mind frame if I make a ritual/pattern out of it. I'm also a stay at home Mom with 2 small kids so I have to have good time management. LOL I've found reading has helped me a lot as far as my writing goes. It inspires me as I'm sure it has all of us.

[Alexes]

I think it might be a matter of how much time you have. When I had young kids at home I wasn't able to read while I was writing, but now, with the kids grown, I find that a bit of each every day works well for me.

[Darlene]

I think it's good to keep reading if you can squeeze in just a little time. But you might want to try something different from the genre you're writing in if you're concerned you might "copy" something or be overly influenced. Reading a completely different style can help you take a fresh look at your own manuscript.

Darlene

Unexpected Legacy

[Dex]

I think as long as you don't copy (plagiarize) what you are reading, there are really no rules... Influence is actually good. If someone reads your book and can point out influence to famous authors, then it's probably a good thing. ;-)

[Brandy]

Ugh, I was just having this debate with myself last night. I am in the middle of writing and I was reading something that would fit into the same genre. I don't think there is anything wrong with reading and writing at the same time. But I did get concerned last night that I might "burn myself out." Or be too influenced. I'm not going to stop reading, but I made the decision to read something very different. I'm hoping it will create something with more...hybrid vigor?

[Dean]

Self debating is wrong.

[Brandy]

Well I didn't think it was all that wrong until the voices in my head started agreeing with me. That's when I started to worry.

[Rebecca]

Well of course you have to do both! Reading is essential to becoming a better writer. And if you are a writer, you are writing every day, right? (Okay, I usually lay off on weekends). So you can't give up reading while you are writing, unless you mean, should you keep a book propped open by the computer. In which case the answer is no. Like E.M., i work in the mornings and usually relax with a book in the evenings.

I am also working on reading as part of my work--i.e., reading consciously and not just for relaxation, but to study and consider how other writers are doing it.

[Dean]

I agree with you Rebecca. Actually ever since I started writing I have begun reading differently too. Not just reading what the author is saying but how they are saying it, judging their style, not just their subject.

[Brandy]

Oh! I agree. writing def changed how I read. in a good way I think.

[David]

I wish i could do like Rebecca, but my niece and nephew pop in whenever they feel and the noise is just too much to focus. I usually write between 1am -7am and read during the day. But yeah reading does influence the direction I go OS I try to read what I'm writing. menaing if I'm writing a legal thriller, I'll read other legal thrillers. if writing humor I'll ready humor. it get's your creative juices flowing.

[Marília]

Brandy wrote: "Well I didn't think it was all that wrong until the voices in my head started agreeing with me. That's when I started to worry."

Why worry? They were probably just trying to be helpful. ;)

[Marília]

Like others have pointed out, if you don't have enough time to separate things, it's impossible not to read and write over the same period of time...

And I think it does end up influencing what you're doing in some way, but that's not all that bad.

And sometimes it will give you something to think about. Sometimes I'll get an idea from something I see, whether I see it on TV, in a book, or see it on the street is pretty much irrelevant after I've seen it. :)

[Darlene]

Dean wrote: "Self debating is wrong."

Haha! I think I'll print this out and tape it to my computer!

[Shaun]

It's only wrong when you have to repeat yourself because you're not listening.

[Brandy]

Or when the voices start trying to convince you that you are crazy.

[Janelovering]

I *have* to read when I'm writing (not simultaneously, you understand - not enough hands). I look on it as emptying out all the words in my head, then reading to fill my head back up again. But then, this is what the voices told me to do, so...

[Chelle]

I agree with Shaun's initial answer. I'm in the middle of writing my 2nd book but I still read & watch tv whenever I can, it doesn't disrupt my work since for my first draft I stick as close as possible to my synopsis & chp outlines. Try to find the balance to read even though you're writing your book.

[Darlene]

I can't imagine a day without reading. I save reading for evening, use my mornings for workouts and then the rest of the day for writing.

[Shaun]

I'm going to quote one of the best books about writing I've ever read here, Stephen King's "On Writing."

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

[Simon]

I agree with Shaun - or Stephen King - reading is an important way of learning the craft. However, it should only teach you the nuts and bolts of writing - if it influences your own voice, then you're not being original. It makes me sad to see the fairly blatant copies of 50 Shades of Grey.
I've just finished reading Grace, by Marília Bonelli, and one of the main reasons I liked it was it was so different to anything else I've read.
Also, watching movies is good for learning about writing. Particularly if it's been adapted from a book - I think you can learn a lot about why they've chopped out certain things. In the Lord of the Rings movie, for example, they got rid of a huge chunk, that I remember when reading the book, thought why the hell was that put in - it had no relevance to the main story. Watch deleted scenes on dvds and analyse why they were cut.

[Tony]

Dean wrote: "I've started writing a new novel, but something else has been taking up my time: reading. Writing takes up a lot of my time but I also spend hours reading...so here is my two questions:

1/ Should ..."

I found I couldn't read at all when I wrote my first book. Like my head couldn't handle it. Then I realised if I was going to write more often, I'd miss reading too much, and managed to do both from then on. Just a mental adjustment, I think. I don't find my writing style changing when I'm writing and reading at the same time.

[Darlene]

While reading does take time away from writing, I think it actually helps me re-focus and think about writing techniques. It's also kind of fun to find little issues in award-winning works! ;-)

[Missy]

Darlene wrote: "I can't imagine a day without reading. I save reading for evening, use my mornings for workouts and then the rest of the day for writing."

Same, minus the workout lol

[R.A.]

Shaun wrote: "I'm going to quote one of the best books about writing I've ever read here, Stephen King's "On Writing."

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple a..."

I love that book! Have you ever listened to it? Mr. King reads it himself. Hilarious and soooo helpful!

And Simon, great advice on looking at cuts. I like to think I've gotten pretty good at 'killing my babies', as someone put it. Entire scenes chopped right outta there. Sometimes it really hurts.

[Harold]

I found that re-reading several novels of authors I admire helped me get past periods when I felt my writing had gone stale. I concentrated on how these writers handled specific problems that were causing me to spin my wheels. Doing this was instructive, and it benefited me psychologically. I was able to write afterward with a fresh -- not fatigued -- mind.

[V.K.]

I let my work dictate what I do here. If I'm on a roll in writing, then the reading's gotta wait. When I hit a block, I break out the books!