The Other Side of Writing

It stands to reason that in order to write well one must read well. Read extensively, that is. Read a variety of literature. Yes, I love teen novels filled with angst and suspense. But I also love my classics (Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, The Witch of Blackbird Pond), poetry (Margaret Atwood, Theodore Roethke, TS Eliot), thrillers (Vince Flynn novels) and adore my British cozies. And let's not forget that my bedside table is stacked with original pulp fiction.

The danger of reading all the same stuff all the time is that you will begin to write just like everyone you are reading.

It's kind of like leaving New York to go live in Texas for ten years. Eventually you will begin to sound like the natives.

The voices of the writers you read seep into you.

Expose yourself to something different every so often.

Even if you have to push your way through it and it feels like torture. (Yes, I know, that means I have to finish A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius or else I shall be a hypocrite).

So today, I have written nothing and have been both pushing myself through Eclipse and finding myself, at odd intervals, racing through it.

Unplug and read.

Snobbery With Violence

With British cozies being a weakness of mine, it is to be expected that Marion Chesney would be one of my absolute favorite writers. Such fun are the Victorian murder mysteries with all their lace and finery! This week I listened to BBC Audiobooks' version of Snobbery With Violence. Davina Porter's performance was a bit disappointing, the voices she chose being inconsistent both within the performance and within my own imagination. I felt she poorly chose the voices for the characters. It was distracting. Anyway, the story's the thing. I had read this one before and was excited for the chance to listen to it. Aside from Porter's performance, it was great fun. I fell in love with the brooding and handsome Captain Harry Cathcart all over again as he tolerated Miss Rose and saved all the aristocracy from their dirty little secrets. It's definitely one to buy for the Ipod and listen to over and over.
Next week's listening? Reading Lolita in Tehran.