Read to write
This is my true story of how a bookworm and budding fiction writer stopped reading and was shocked at how it affected and stunted her writing.
Many decades ago, there was a young girl who would stay up late at night, reading with a torch under the blankets. If a light was seen under the door, she’d feel her mother’s wrath.
She’d speed through piles of library books, win prizes in MS readathon competitions, and go on fortnightly restocking trips to trash and treasure markets, where the books were only 5-10 cents each.
More bookshelves were needed, and over time, her collection spilled out of her room into the family bookshelves.
I’m sure her nightly book munching under the covers didn’t help her eyesight!
Writing stories inspired by reading
Inspired, she wrote many stories. First by hand, and occasionally illustrated. Then she learnt to touch type on an old manual typewriter, and plowed through black ribbons and white-out. There were stories that looked very much like her favourite authors’. Imitation is flattery, right?
Strange dreams and some nightmares were clacked out on the pages.
But inspiration slipped away with the passage of time.
Few books read = no writing
She went to university, and her pace slowed. There was so much to read to gain her degree, and then more to read to correct when teaching.
She stopped writing all but the shortest of pieces. Poetry, a haiku, an occasional angst-laden phrase.
After entering the workplace, she wrote for a living. Dry, technical pieces. Long commutes and longer work hours sapped away at her energy.
She lost her drive to read, and her non-work writing disappeared.
Restarting reading to start writing
Decades later, dealing with some severe health problems gave her some much needed space. There was finally some time and energy to read.
At first, a few self-help and health books were devoured, then new novels by her old favourites. Ebooks require much less shelf space!
The compulsion to write returned. But her writing felt rusty. Full of cobwebs. Mechanical and uninspired. So she went searching for fun exercises, fantastical worlds, writing prompts, inspiration, motivation.
Of course, this is me
Modern obstacles to reading more
With doomscrolling and short video media, it’s difficult to get back into reading. This is compounded by the auto-immune arthritis that means holding books is not possible. But, I want to get back into fiction writing, and so I have been intentionally reading more.
The Kindle Oasis is light enough for me to hold, and although I really dislike behing beholden to such a company, it has encouraged me to read more often. I’ve also signed up for my old library back in Australia (German libraries have almost no English books), and have been using their digital collection of ebooks and audiobooks.
My current reading pile
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien – in German to help me with my language learning. Although I am lax in transferring unknown words and definitions to a flash card app.
The 7 Secrets of the Prolific, by Hillary Rettig – to combat my ever-present perfectionist side, so often it gets in the way of writing.
The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron – to open the writing floodgates, with great writing prompts and permission to write whatever bubbles up. Next will be The Artist’s Way.
I’m sharing the exercises in the Right to Write with patrons as I work through Cameron’s books.
Plus several other self help and health books, plus a few more novels from my favourite authors.
I’m still finding it easier to read non-fiction than fiction, sadly. I hope that one day, books disease will turn me into a voracious bookworm again!