Writers First Aid

Pleasure Reading

March 29, 2010

reading What have you given up in order to have time to write?

When I started out, giving up my hour of pleasure reading in the afternoon (the kids’ naptime) was the biggest sacrifice I made. I loved that hour of escape where I rose above my daily chores and relished adult language and words longer than one syllable. Yes, I could still read at night when the kids were in bed, but by then I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open.

Are You Sacrificing TOO Much?

We’ve talked lately about tracking your time and then sacrificing some of your current pleasures in order to write. And yes, time for pleasure reading may have to be cut back drastically in the “learning years.” Like many writers, my pleasure reading is now used as a reward. (I often set my timer and write for thirty minutes, promising myself a ten-minute reading break for each thirty minutes of writing. I love those reading breaks!) I try to read at bedtime too, but I still fall asleep too quickly.

I once had a student who read five romance novels per week, every week. Really! I had no problem recommending that she turn 75% of that time into writing time. Most of you don’t have that kind of time to read for pleasure–and I don’t either. You may only have thirty minutes to an hour for pleasure reading. And when you give it up, you’re losing a writer’s #1 most favorite pastime: reading.

Short-Term Sacrifice

If you’ve given up pleasure reading in order to write, I hope you will be able to add it back to your life soon. I think writers need to read. (And not just books on craft or books in the genre you hope to publish in.) Reading for pleasure nurtures our soul–and keeps us in touch with what readers want.

So how can you balance this while you’re learning to write, especially when you’re juggling a day job and/or a family? Make use of alternative methods. Discover books on tape, and listen during car pools or while washing dishes. Discover books on MP3 players like Playaways, or download digital books from your library, and listen to them while you run or garden.

When my time was the shortest–when the kids were small and I was working another job in addition to the writing and school visits–all I could carve out for pleasure reading was fifteen minutes per day. It wasn’t enough time to finish a book in a month–and I couldn’t figure out the plot in those little bits.

During those years, then, I re-read the classics on my shelves. Consequently I’ve memorized whole chunks of Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, and other favorites. Since I already knew the plot and characters, I could relax and just enjoy seeing old friends for fifteen minutes each day.

No Time to Read

I know a good number of full-time professional writers who have given up pleasure reading altogether. They said they just don’t have time. What do you think about that? Is pleasure reading something you’d give up in order to have the writing career of your dreams?

Why–or why not?

Post tags: creativity, depression, distractions, emotional balance, finding time, habits, reading, self-care, time management, writing challenges, writing habits

Posted in: books,books on tape,creativity,depression,emotional balance,reading,recovery,renewal,writing challenges,writing habits | | Comments (14)

14 Comments »

We need to inhale and we need to exhale. We can’t function on only one process. We would either die from needing oxygen or die from carbon dioxide poisoning.

So the is life cycle of a writer’s mind. We need to exhale – to write. We need to inhale – to read. It is for pleasure, for learning, for comparing, for criticizing, for relaxing, for escaping.

However, unlike breathing, it doesn’t have to be perfectly balanced. I agree that we can find more writing time by cutting back on reading. But, not completely. We need to inhale!

Comment by Momma Mindy — March 29, 2010 @ 11:49 am
Momma Mindy, I LOVED your inhale/exhale analogy of the writer’s mind. I totally agree! That’s how I’ve always felt. If I don’t read, I find eventually I have nothing to give out. Well put!

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 29, 2010 @ 12:03 pm
In all the books on writing that I read, they all say, read a ton of books of the type you write. I can understand cutting back a little to allow time to write, but I can’t understand shutting down reading entirely. I think that down time allows your mind to wander and open up new areas that enhance writing. Reading is focused imagination cultivation. You’re planting seeds that will germinate into your own stories, articles, or books.

Comment by Beth Mac — March 29, 2010 @ 1:20 pm
Beth, you said a mouthful when you said that “reading is focused imagination cultivation. You’re planting seeds that will germinate into your own stories, articles, or books.” I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds this to be true. Now I wish I believed it enough to take an hour out of my work day and just read when I’m NOT so sleepy!

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 29, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
I could never completely give up pleasure reading, it has been my favorite free time thing to do since I learned how to read!

Comment by Jennifer R. — March 29, 2010 @ 3:28 pm
Jennifer, it’s been mine too. My favorite pastime, my true escape, a real joy! My idea of heaven is one huge library and eternity to read!

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 29, 2010 @ 5:53 pm
Once again, Kristi, you’ve portrayed an all-too-real dilemma.

I didn’t realize it at first, but after two years of writing my fiction, I slowly found it harder and harder to read for pleasure.

In my case, it wasn’t family obligations or second careers, neither of which I have, that made it hard for me. It was the books themselves. The writers I’d always loved, the writers whose books I feared reading, the writers who worked so much harder than me, the pressure I felt to be as good or greater than them weighed heavy on my heart.

It’s hard to admit that I don’t read new books as much anymore, especially to my new critique group, who’ve been so supportive.

Every book I read that wasn’t a craft book felt like competition I couldn’t equal. Even though I know they got copy-edited and all that, it still feels like I’m not reaching the level to be taken seriously, that even the slightest error will give reason to toss my work aside.

I have to force myself to read without judging.

I think your audiobook tip’s a good idea. I often listen to audiobooks when I’m writing, it both lets me enjoy a story and keep working. I’m sure many would find that too distracting, but it works for me, and I’m glad. If not for audiobooks, I’d have enjoyed few stories other than the ones I wrote.

Plus, I find hearing audiobooks lets me more easily enjoy the story without that debilitating feeling of rivalry getting in the way. When I’m reading on the page, that feeling of “I must be as well written as this to make it” can be much harder to ignore.

I still love reading on the page with a physical book in my hands, but since everyone keeps saying that more writing means better quality, I’ve focused heavily on that so far this year.

I gave up a lot of things to devote to my writing. Things like TV time and video games were the first to go, but I really don’t mind, even though I miss playing video games.

For me though, the hardest thing to give up was being able to read without feeling like all the books and writers I loved were my rivals.

There can be a backlash to learning more about publishing and how agents and editors work, you start to feel intimidated and shadowed by the very writers who brought you joy and nothing else.

That said, I don’t regret for one minute all that I’ve learned the last few years, I just wish I handled it better.

Kristi, I know what you mean about longing to read books where syllable counts and issues of complexity don’t matter as much. Just because we’re writing for kids, doesn’t mean our interest in fiction beyond the teenage years is sacrilege.

That said, you must be a better reader than I to memorize large chunks of Pride and Prejudice. I can’t even get past the first page, at least the last time I tried to read it.

By the same token, I really don’t know how to analyze books the way all the craft books I own tell me too. I’m sure the mechanics are there, just waiting to be learned. But I just can’t find them, I don’t know how. I’m not trying to be dismissive or whiny when I say that, I’m being brutally honest. That also adds to the pressure I feel of not measuring up to writers who can easily dissect all the aspects of story, or poetry, even more intimidating…

Lately I feel like I go from project to project, and while I might be better in some ways, it never seems to be enough. People can tell you when something’s insanely rough, but they often can’t tell when something’s ready to go. Doesn’t anyone find that weird?

I feel true sorrow for those who can’t read what they want, not just what they must. It does change you.
For me, I must keep finding ways to enjoy the pleasures of a book, while still learning what I can, without losing faith in my strengths, which I know I have.

After all, the best of the best were rookies at one time, and they still have their own struggles to face, but it can be hard to remember that when you yourself have little to show for your efforts.

For those who write fiction especially, we write it because we loved what we read and wanted to join in ourselves. I have to remind myself that whenever I feel particularly jealous or inferior to other writers.

I pray for the day when it won’t always be hard to balance all this, feeling like I’m pulling my own teeth with no morphine.

It may always be hard, but I pray it won’t always hurt the way it does now.

C.J.

P.S. Sorry I went long again, it’s another topic I feel deeply strong about.

Comment by C.J. Rockwell — March 29, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
C.J., you put into words many of the feelings I have myself—and many that other writers have expressed to me. Early in my career I had to stop reading other people’s books (middle-grade) because it was depressing how much better they were than the things I was writing. It didn’t help me at all. That feeling never did pass altogether. I can read adult mysteries without those feelings, maybe because I don’t have any aspirations in that direction. At some point I also accepted that I wasn’t given a great talent—I was given a medium talent. I try to make that medium talent be the best it can be, but I don’t even *think* like the great writers, so I’m not likely to ever write like them. And I’ve come to finally believe that that’s just fine. Be the best YOU can be. Eventually, then, you’ll be able to enjoy reading others’ work.

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 29, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
I often think I would curl up and expire without a book to read. Yes, I’m tired at night, but I happily give up TV in order to read for longer. In fact, recent studies show that the light in the TV screen is too stimulating and won’t help you sleep, whereas black print on white paper is soothing!
But I also think I’ve been writing so long that even my most pleasurable reading is still enhanced by my writer’s eye, somehow evaluating that great dialogue and description and characterisation while I’m diving into the world of the story.

Comment by Sherryl — March 30, 2010 @ 1:48 am
Sherryl, I can’t read without a writer’s eye either. It’s too instinctive. But I find I read good books with a lot more appreciation for the work I know that went into that seemingly effortless prose or catchy dialogue or setting that pulls you in. Conversely, I give up on books sooner than I used to. A lousy first chapter with stupid dialogue or other irritating things goes right back to the library. There isn’t enough time to read bad books! But a day without reading is a day without sunshine.

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 30, 2010 @ 8:54 am
I love, love, love to read. I enjoy writing, but reading is pure pleasure. I compare writing to enjoying a good steak–takes some time to get it all down on paper, and reading is like dark chocolate M&Ms…I can pound those, and I tend to devour books. I find it hard to focus on anything else productive while I’m in the process of reading a book, so I force myself to only read when I have lots of time to devote to it. But, maybe I need to rethink that and sprinkle more reading into my life. I may eat less chocolate then. (ha!)

Comment by Selena — March 30, 2010 @ 2:23 pm
Selena, you’ve got it exactly right! Pleasure reading is the closest thing to chocolate I’ve ever found too–and that’s saying a lot! My blood type is Hershey’s.

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 30, 2010 @ 9:50 pm
Pleasure reading is also market study for me. I spend my reading time with middle grade and YA novels, especially the popular and/or award-winning titles. Although I sometimes study them (reading the first page several times or dissecting description and appreciating the author’s style), I often take pleasure in the plot and characters, too. Bottom line is I can’t give up the pleasure reading. It’s what inspired me to write in the first place!

Comment by Leslie — March 31, 2010 @ 8:56 am
Leslie, I agree. How can you give up something that inspired us to write in the first place? I know I can’t!

Comment by Kristi Holl — March 31, 2010 @ 1:51 pm