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I'm just passing through this evening to talk briefly about that thing I love (see title of blog). Yeeeeeup! The fantastic, the amazing, the wonderful; that lets us go places mentally whilst we sit, often behind a desk, whiling away by lamplight.
There's nothing like it as far as I can tell. Granted, I blog about anythingz and everythingz but do I love me a BIG slice of fiction? YES!
In order to produce the good stuff (and if you've ever been on a writing course, or read: On Writing by Stephen King, then you'll know), you have to READ constantly, non-stop. Like - if you didn't read right now, the world would implode:
Ok, a little dramatic but, reading really does help your creativity blossom.
In the past I wasn't a big fan of reading, but I love writing. The moment I embraced both equally, it became glaringly obvious that my writing improved.
A few years ago I wouldn't have let anyone see anything I was working on. Now ... I post my thoughts and fiction like gangsters have threatened to break my hands.
A few good books worth looking at to really send your brain on a healthy tangent are:
On Writing
Funny Business
Halo: First Strike
Sourcery
Small Gods
Looking for Andrew McCarthy
Run for Your Life
Double Cross
Nothing But Blue Skies
The Road
These books (some I've read recently) have inspired and influenced elements of my writing and without them I wouldn't be writing the way I do today, which I hope is at a decent standard.
In order to really excel it's vital that I, as well as you; read a wide range of fictional genres, and don't hesitate to throw some non-fiction into the mix like:
Say It Like Obama
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
What Every Body Is Saying
Howdunit Forensics: A Guide for Writers
Like S. King said in the link attached to his name above:
"I think you ought to read a lot, I think you ought to write a lot. Those are really the two major things, you can't put it off, you have to really do the work, you have to be well read ..."
>> that lets us go places mentally whilst we sit, often behind a desk, whiling away by lamplight.
ReplyDeleteI love this line. This is what I tell everyone who tells me reading is a drag!
You are so right, one should read fiction to write fiction. Great book list, I will add them to my Kindle list. I have heard a lot about "On Writing", but I haven't actually read it yet.
I am very bad at non fiction though, I don't read any. If there isn't a story in it, I am not interested :)
Great post. I am going to bookmark it and come back to it often.
On Writing is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with non-fiction too, but there are some interesting ones out there.
:)