Does Being a Writer Change Your Reading?

Three Ways My Reading Has Changed

1. What I read has changed. I don’t have as much time to read historical fiction as I used to have. All my life I’ve kept journals of the books I’ve read and I would compare years to see what my yearly count was.I still read for about 20 minutes before I turn out the light at night and I read during the day as time permits. Okay, that last part is just funny. Time permits? Not so much. These days, what I read might be edits from my editor, how-to-write books by writers who have gone before, writing magazines–I love The Writer and the Historical Novels Review!, or books in other genres by writers I’ve met in person or online.
2. How I read has changed.Plot. I was such a reader for plot I would forget the characters’ names and have to go back and check them out. Paragraphs of description were annoying and I became a great skimmer for the ‘good stuff.’ I preferred books that got to the details and wove in character, setting, themes, as needed and certainly not obtrusively. I still love to see how it will all turn out but I find myself looking at the writing differently. Rather than rushing through the story I am noticing just how the author wedged in that essential bit of backstory or just why he or she chose third person or first person. I see the plan behind the story like the framework of a house. I notice whether the framework is steel or wood timbers. And I learn for my own writing.
3. How I record what I’ve read has changed. As mentioned earlier, I was a great keeper of my reading record. Now I consider whether the author might be someone I’ll interview on this blog. Shall I do a review on Goodreads? I ask myself. Or will I just let the book and my reading of it quietly die? And I love this change as I’ve discovered amazing people through interviews, reviews, and contacting the author to tell them I had written about them. Just this past weekend I finished Barbara Kyle’s 4th book, The Queen’s Gamble, a great read. And now she has the 5th in The Thornleigh Series out so I’ll put it on my list as well. How did I meet Kyle? I found her writing course online a few years ago, took it, signed up for a couple of her workshops, and now I am a Kyle convert. Just this morning I found that she is speaking at Stratford’s Shakespearean Festival this summer and I’ve marked the date on my calendar.

How have your reading habits changed over the years? What has affected them, having children, working full time, change of jobs, change of circumstance or taste? Consider leaving a comment below.

 

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Coming Soon!

The Loyalist’s Wife by Elaine Cougler

 

2012 in Review: It’s Been a Pretty Eventful Year

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for me and it gave me the idea to do a bit of a retrospective. First, here is the stats report for my writing blog. I was surprised to see which post was the most popular–the one about my brother, Roger, His Smiling Eyes. Rather than talking about writing, this post is an example of my writing and has a compelling title. I suppose those are the reasons it was the most popular post of the year. Something for me to remember.

Here is the WordPress report for those who are into stats. I think it’s pretty interesting to see what stats they have chosen to report and which of my posts were most popular.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 11,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 18 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Some of the other benchmarks of my year include learning a lot about writing through two excellent critiquers and excellent writing techniques through Author Salon. I started book 2 of my trilogy, tentatively titled The Loyalist’s Luck, and went to historical fiction writer, Barbara Kyle’s workshop where we presented our first 30 pages for discussion. I got a lot of excellent feedback and can hardly wait to pick up that project and finish the first draft.

In late summer, after much deliberation, I decided to leave Author Salon and forge ahead on The Loyalist’s Wife on my own. A final work through the manuscript was invigorating and fruitful. In late October, I finished. Then I immediately began sending out a flurry of querries to agents with the hopes of snagging one, a quest I am still on. Self-publishing has also been looming on my horizons and loads of related articles have caught my attention both on the Internet and through LinkedIn author groups.

A marketing course caught my attention in August and I signed up for fellow Canadian, Danny Iny’s course. I learned a lot about blogging, writing for a purpose, and just what I needed to write to attract the audience I’m writing for. I read several books for writers and commented in various places, but the one I read for Joe Bunting at The Write Practice really made sense for me. His book was about writing short stories. I got really excited about going over my 20 or so stories and submitting them. It was energizing. I’ve sent a couple out but need to do more. One I got published in Quick Brown Fox in November.

Just this moment I’m in Victoria with family, chomping at the bit to get writing again, after 2 weeks of very little ass-in-chair time. I am back on my path, know where I’m going, and want to move ahead every day. That elusive book cover is moving closer and  closer. 2013, here I come!

Wishing you all a very productive and energizing New Year!

Consider leaving a comment with your successes for 2012 and wishes for 2013. 

Download a free copy of 10 Ways to Improve Your Writing Booklet from the link in the side column.

 

3 Things For Which I, as a Writer, am Thankful

Thanksgiving in Canada

On this lovely November day when our Canadian Thanksgiving is long past for this year, I pause to think of all the notices I’ve received about the American Thanksgiving. And I am thankful for my writer’s life.

While there are many aspects of writing which I love  (and a few I don’t!), here are three jewels in my writing life.

1. First and foremost, the absolute JOY of feeling  wondrous words tumbling off the ends of my fingers and forming themselves into settings and scenes, into people and problems, and into worlds until now undiscovered. Sometimes I feel like an explorer paddling up the French River in this wonderful ‘new world’ here in Canada. And I see the curve in the distance and wonder what I will find there.
2. Second, the Internet world which, as much as those early rivers and oceans, teems with not fish but writers, and readers, and writers, and editors, and writers, and agents, and more writers. And I have learned so much from all of these people: LinkedIn writing-oriented groups, Twitter similar groups and followers, Facebook folk, and even a few Google+ hardy writing souls.
3. Third, my writing friends, most of whom, I know in person. Conferences, workshops, and chance happenings have all contributed to my lovely list of like-minded writing friends. I treasure them all, for what they teach me, for their varied views across the conference table, and for knowing that these other amazing, intuitive, struggling writers really understand my frustrations. And my joys.

And so I am thankful for the American Thanksgiving added to my Canadian one. In so doing it gives me twice the time to contemplate my life.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Note To Self: Remember to put titles on my posts before publishing them as they just don’t work so well without. Last week’s guest post with the amazing Barbara Kyle went out first without my title. Dah! If you missed it, here is the link.

Consider leaving a comment on writing, on living in a country other than the United States, or on anything prompted by this post.