The moment I finished writing Running the Asset, I’d promised myself that I’d get back into reading fiction. Not only because I love getting sucked into spy romances, but it’s also a handy way to up my writing skills. But, now that I’m into the editing phase, there is one work-related book that I must read before I get any deeper into the edits. (Don’t worry; it’s a fun one.)
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It’s been almost a month since I posted what I’ve been reading. Sixty plus hours a week down the word mines made it challenging to find time to read. But now that I’m heading for a holiday in T minus two hours, I thought I’d line up my next read.
I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I shared my latest reads. But, to be honest, all of my reading plans went out the window. Well, not out the window; they just went so slow that I had to re-read chapters to remember what happened in the days since I’d last read.
I go through the odd month of barely getting any reading done, but I’d thought that wouldn’t be an issue given that I was reading two of my favourite authors. But, I know why I’ve struggled to get much reading done.
Okay, that last statement sounds like I did some deep thinking about the issue and came up with some startling revelation… nope. As I was reading my Fun read–a book I know I love because I’ve read it multiple times–I suddenly remembered that I don’t read fiction when I’m writing fiction.
It probably sounds insane. Wouldn’t reading fiction, especially a well-written novel in my genre, be helpful? For me, no.
While I was writing my scenes, I noticed a different tone slipping in. It was present in the narrative, the dialogue, and the characters. It wasn’t a crappy tone. It was just a bit darker than mine and with less humour. Basically, it wasn’t suitable for my story. (H. R. D’Costa calls it tone tampering.)
So, with my lesson learnt, I’ve decided to give fiction a by while I’m in writing mode.
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I have a dreaded Did Not Finish (DNF) on one of the books I was reading over the last fortnight. I’ve been trying to avoid doing this with the books in this post series, but it was unavoidable this time.
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I’m changing things up a bit this week. Instead of having three books in rotation–a work read, a fun read, and a me read–I’m going with just the two.
After several weeks, I’ve finally finished my work read Writing for Emotional Impact on Kindle. The book is chock-full of fantastic writing tips on eliciting emotion via dialogue, context, and word choice. There’s also basic writing advice on theme, scene structure and character.
With it taking me so long to read and make notes, I need a break from reading about the craft of writing–for a week, if I can last that long–so I can let what I’ve learned sink in. (That just means more time to read my other books!)
Woohoo, it’s book day! Also, it’s book hangover time. 😩 It’s okay; give me a couple of days, and I’ll be sucked into the next one. I mentioned book hangover to my better half, Jez, the other week, and he had no clue what it meant. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a romance reader thing.
If you don’t know what it is, this meme explains it succinctly.
It’s Friday, and this week’s reads are old ones found on my Kindle or Kobo ‘To be read’ pile or are re-reads. Again, I’ve got three great reads on the go: a work read, a fun read, and a me-time read. The me-time one…? Yeah, it’s a bit different.
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It’s Friday, and that can only mean a new reading post! Like last week, I’ve got three reads on the go: a work read, a fun read, and a me-time read.
[FYI: The book links are free from affiliate codes.]
The Work Read
I finished last week’s work read: 7 Figure Fiction: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL your Books to ANYONE by T. Taylor. I have to say, it was a great read full of new ways to look at stories and how to make your’s connect with readers.
Reading that book made me think of one of my old screenwriting instructors at UCLA Extension, Karl Iglesias. I bought his Writing for Emotional Impact while taking his class that semester. But it was so long ago that I can’t quite remember most of it… it was well over a decade ago 😳
I’ve only just started to read the introduction, but if the book’s anything like the class, I’m going to have one hell of a refresher–and probably pick up a lot of what I missed in those early days–on eliciting emotions from my readers.
I did warn you all about my love for Anne Stuart. Well, I finished Rocky Road. It was a fun read, though lacking in my need for suspense, but I guessed there was little to none going in.
Now, this book has suspense in spades–going by the description. This is a re-release of a 1995 book, but Anne does a pretty good job updating her older books. Anything too dated is brought up to date so that you don’t really notice it.
The basics: Richard Tiernan, a man accused of killing his wife and two kids, is bailed out of prison by Cassidy Roarke’s writer father, a man so ambitious he’s willing to sacrifice his own daughter in the pursuit of his final Pulitzer-winning story. (👈 This is my quick wee description. Check out the preview above to get a real hint at the darkness of this novel. I’m getting giddy now!)
I’m still working my way through this book. (So many diagrams, measurements, and not enough time!) if I finish it before the end of the month, I’ll be impressed.
