Writers Who Don't Read

[OddLove]

(aside from some Erotica and articles) I don't read. In fact, the only books I've ever read as an adult were a few autobiographies of people I admire. I tried to listen to the audio books for Lord of the Rings and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy because I love the movies, but I never finished either audio book.

What stops me from reading is I simply don't focus. I constantly lose my place while reading, and even if I use my finger or mouse cursor to follow along or try listening to an audio book, I'll find myself completely drifting off to other thoughts until I eventually realize I missed a huge chunk of the story. Then I have to go back over and over and over. The only exception seems to be informative articles about something I'm interested in like space, meta physics, philosophy, etc. Or a BDSM/Kink themed erotic/romance story.

Yet, I still write... a lot.

I even remember when my first couple stories were sent back for bad dialog formatting, I went to YouTube and watched videos about writing Dialog rather than just reading a book to learn it.

It's hard to imagine there's any 'successful' writers who are not also avid readers. That would be a like a movie director who doesn't watch movies. But I keep chugging along regardless cause story telling is a fun way to engage in the creative process. I'm curious how much others here write vs read though.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I mostly read erotica when beta reading, less for pure pleasure (not that it’s not a pleasure to beta read for the authors I work with). For pleasure, I tend to read mainstream novels. It didn’t use to be this way as I read here before I wrote. But there are only so many hours in the day .

 

[UsuallyPresent]

I read erotica online, various less-salacious tales online - RoyalRoad, AO3, etc - and for profit books. I've gotten to the point where most (almost all) of my reading is on screens, only rarely do I crack a book open. Kinda miss it, but electronics are usually much more convenient.

One previous job where I was writing & editing a LOT (tech stuff, not novels - white papers, reports, presentations, specs, that kinda thing), my reading pleasure suffered. For me, the grind of work reduced the pleasure of the page, for a fancy turn of phrase. I've never taken on authorship of tales as my primary occupation, and I'm not sure how that'd affect my enjoyment - one part thinks it'd grind it down, another it'd improve my appreciation of different types of skilled writing.

 

[Nynah]

I read voraciously. There aren't enough hours in the day to satisfy my reading habits, honestly. My chosen genre for most traditionally published work is sci-fi/fantasy but I do enjoy quite a bit of contemporary fiction as well, plus whatever non-fiction book strikes my fancy on any given day. I'm on a first name basis with my local librarians.

Specifically for Lit, I always try to read at least a few stories a week. There are so many excellent writers here, it's wild. Lit also feels like more of a community as well, given that we're all sharing our work with no compensation other than the feedback we get from readers (contests notwithstanding), so I try to do my part to read and leave comments when I have the opportunity.

 

[iwatchus]

I read voraciously into my mid twenties. By then I was also reading a lot of non-fiction. I think the last straw for reading non-fiction was when Donaldson killed off my favorites in his White Gold Wielder series. I never did finish that series and read almost no fiction for twenty years. A few decades ago, I forced myself to occasionally read a novel (mostly classics that I had missed in my younger days or re-reading a book I had enjoyed, like Cat's Cradle). In the eighties, yes the nineteen eighties, I started reading erotica from a usenet group when I had time. Shortly after this site opened its doors, I started reading here. That was always very bursty, depending on what else was happening in my life.

I stopped reading at all when I started writing here almost seven months ago. I started reading stories from here again when I hit my first dry spell a few months ago. I try to read a few stories a day when I can now, beyond any beta reading I'm doing.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

That's just weird. Reminds me of this music thing I was watching where this dude kept his daughters locked in their room most of their life, and made them into a band, when they never heard music before, much less lived life.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

The key to continuing the reading habit is to have the next book you want to read in the house before you finish the current book. That's what works for me.

I also find it useful to have two, sometimes three, books on the go at the same time. I'll keep one in a bag for when I'm on the go, another by the sofa to read at night.

Personally, I read non-fiction to the exclusion of all else. I've reached the age where I think I really should know how the world functions and so I ask myself questions like 'what's the difference between asset management and private equity?' or 'is immigration really a problem?' or 'what makes a revolution successful?' and if I don't know the answer I'll go read a bunch of books on the topic.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Me neither.


Don't remember the last time I held anything close to a book.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't know what this is like, because I've always been an avid reader of everything. I think it's fairly easy for this to happen, because modern culture encourages short attention spans. Reading requires concentration, an elimination of distractions, like too much (or in my case, any) background noise, and a focus on doing one thing for an extended period of time. Based on the way I see my kids and their friends live, this way of doing things runs totally contrary to the contemporary cultural norm. To give an example, I can't stand the way young people want music playing all the time. I went on a mountain hike with my son and his friend and the friend's father, and the friend wanted to play music on his phone the whole way. I don't understand wanting to bombard one's senses at all times that way, but many today shrug and think it's normal.

I've always read everything since I was a kid. Classic fiction, popular fiction, science fiction, nonfiction books about science, history, biography, politics, philosophy. I alternate--fiction, then nonfiction. I just finished Martin Amis's Money and now I'm reading the second volume of Rick Atkinson's trilogy on the American Revolutionary War.

Reading is a habit that it's easy to fall out of. With all the distractions around us, you have to make a point of doing it. In a world full of instant gratification, it's easy to forget that the most enjoyable things to do are things you have to work at doing.

One good reason to read is that you can't possibly really know what GOOD writing is unless you expose yourself to it. I'm constantly inspired by good authors and the way they use words. It would never occur to me to try to do some of the things they do if I hadn't read what they did.

 

[Lifestyle66]

(aside from some Erotica and articles) I don't read. In fact, the only books I've ever read as an adult were a few autobiographies of people I admire. I tried to listen to the audio books for Lord of the Rings and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy because I love the movies, but I never finished either audio book.

What stops me from reading is I simply don't focus. I constantly lose my place while reading, and even if I use my finger or mouse cursor to follow along or try listening to an audio book, I'll find myself completely drifting off to other thoughts until I eventually realize I missed a huge chunk of the story. Then I have to go back over and over and over. The only exception seems to be informative articles about something I'm interested in like space, meta physics, philosophy, etc. Or a BDSM/Kink themed erotic/romance story.

Yet, I still write... a lot.

I even remember when my first couple stories were sent back for bad dialog formatting, I went to YouTube and watched videos about writing Dialog rather than just reading a book to learn it.

It's hard to imagine there's any 'successful' writers who are not also avid readers. That would be a like a movie director who doesn't watch movies. But I keep chugging along regardless cause story telling is a fun way to engage in the creative process. I'm curious how much others here write vs read though.

It sounds like you have "Attention Deficit Disorder".

My wife has a similar problem staying focused and "on task" without her meds. She uses the term "Squirrel!" to describe a distraction, as if seeing a small animal in her peripheral vision distracting her when she unexpectedly changes the topic. For reading, she uses audio books and just continues listening to the story, even when she loses focus.

I tend to read stories here on LitE, unless I'm engaged in my own writing and focused on a story over 80% complete. Before the story is firmly fleshed out with beginning, middle, and end, awaiting the complete details, I can stop writing and read the stories others have posted. But when I get over 80-85% complete with my own story, I get TOO FOCUSED on completing it and fine-tuning it.

At that point, my wife complains that I'm spending too much time on my writing and ignoring other things I should be doing.

Since posting my last story in July, I haven't been inspired with anything new. So, I'm now looking for stories written by others.

 

[Actingup]

I read voraciously into my mid twenties. By then I was also reading a lot of non-fiction. I think the last straw for reading non-fiction was when Donaldson killed off my favorites in his White Gold Wielder series. I never did finish that series and read almost no fiction for twenty years. A few decades ago, I forced myself to occasionally read a novel (mostly classics that I had missed in my younger days or re-reading a book I had enjoyed, like Cat's Cradle). In the eighties, yes the nineteen eighties, I started reading erotica from a usenet group when I had time. Shortly after this site opened its doors, I started reading here. That was always very bursty, depending on what else was happening in my life.

I stopped reading at all when I started writing here almost seven months ago. I started reading stories from here again when I hit my first dry spell a few months ago. I try to read a few stories a day when I can now, beyond any beta reading I'm doing.

Guy Gavriel Kay rescued me from Donaldson.

@Nynah, you may be on a first name basis with your librarians, but I dare you to head straight to the erotica section! There’s a test for us integrating our fractured lives…

 

[GaryDickins]

Most of my book consumption these days is done through Audible. My day job keeps me busy and focused on coding or numbers-based tasks, and I enjoy a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction genres. I also listen to fair number of podcasts on topics ranging from TTRPGs to real world history and contemporary politics. Post-mortem campaign books (or as one of my favorite podcasters calls them, the "who farted and where" politics books) are a favorite sub-genre.

I read for many different reasons. My own edification and broadening perspectives beyond my own personal biases is one. Another is to get the cadence and rhythm of people's speech patterns for dialogue (that's really helpful when you know the author is transcribing conversations from a taped interview). A third is just to find interesting personality types that might make a good template for a character in a fictional story. Change their name, age, maybe their gender or ethnicity and blammo... now you've got someone that can be in a scene or maybe even fill a larger role in a story.

If following printed words on a page or a screen is too distracting for the OP because of a condition like ADD or something similar, then maybe try audiobooks if you feel the need to consume more literary content. You can get unabridged versions of nearly anything in print from the Audible bookstore or other outlets if you don't want to give Jeff Bezos any more money.

A lot of audiobooks are voiced by actors who will use different voices or at least inflections for each character. A few have multiple cast members where each major character is voiced by a different reader. And the audiobooks in the Star Wars series (Legends and Canon) almost always have additional sound effects and incidental music sprinkled into various scenes (such as combat sequences) that make them a bit more cinematic than simply reading them off the page.

 

[Statius]

Currently I read 2, sometimes 3 writers here, but it's far between. Outside of LirE it's mythology, folklore, or (rarely) related fiction. Think Madeline(?) Miller. Speaking of which I can't remember the authors name, but 'Clytemnestra' is the best one I've read.. otherwise it's just Rushdie at this point for living writers.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I grew up as the stereotypical "reading a book under the covers with a flashlight". I read a few dozen books a year and I've got a pile of books I'm waiting to get to.
If you want to be a great writer you have to read, and you have to have experiences, to have lived life in a meaningful way.
Tolkien's service in WW1 and being at the Battle of the Somme, Dickens having to work long hours as a child because his father was in debtor's prison are parts of the reason their writing still resonates.
So may modern authors haven't experienced anything other than college.

 

[yowser]

I am totally impressed that you continue writing without doing much reading. I frankly cannot imagine that, and I have a pretty good imagination.

Reading is easier than writing, and as a writer I think I would dissolve if for whatever reasons I could not or would not be reading. I understand truncated attention spans (I used to be able to read Heidegger but that ability has long faded) but there are now so many other avenues for 'reading'. It still pains me that as great a writer as Borges went blind (feel the same way about Beethoven going deaf) as a crime against the world, but Borges kept 'reading' by having people read to him, often his favorites.

I have a hard time reading most modern fiction, since I am usually 'rewriting' substandard prose. ('No, that's not how it should be said, you're clumsy with your words, doesn't flow well, it ought to be like this...') But give me a gifted, imaginative writer from any epoch, and I am entranced (for days.)

I wish you luck.

 

[Statius]

I am totally impressed that you continue writing without doing much reading. I frankly cannot imagine that, and I have a pretty good imagination.

Reading is easier than writing, and as a writer I think I would dissolve if for whatever reasons I could not or would not be reading. I understand truncated attention spans (I used to be able to read Heidegger but that ability has long faded) but there are now so many other avenues for 'reading'. It still pains me that as great a writer as Borges went blind (feel the same way about Beethoven going deaf) as a crime against the world, but Borges kept 'reading' by having people read to him, often his favorites.

I have a hard time reading most modern fiction, since I am usually 'rewriting' substandard prose. ('No, that's not how it should be said, you're clumsy with your words, doesn't flow well, it ought to be like this...') But give me a gifted, imaginative writer from any epoch, and I am entranced (for days.)

I wish you luck.

Milton! I know you know, just sayin'.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I grew up reading loads, but in the last 15-20 years it's been much less longer works and novels. A lot more biography and history.

As far as erotica goes, for some reason not much on Lit hits for me the way many anthologies of stories in books used to, and a fair few AO3 stories still do. So I don't read much on Lit because often the good stories are too sad or stressful to be fun, and many others are unfinished, or have implausible characters or are scenarios I don't find interesting. Sometimes I wonder if it's just me not being into any story at the time, but my own stories generally work, some more than others.

Sometimes the spur for me to write is not being able to find anything I want to read...

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

I wish I could say I read more. But unless a work is right up my interest alley, I also find myself getting distracted. I'm much more into movies--a dark room and nothing but visuals and sound to keep me focused.

 

[stickygirl]

I don’t read erotica because I’ve had sex and I have imagination but if a tale is well written, say a weepy lesbian tale from a broken soul ….
I can guzzle a book in a day if it fits my mood and equally I reread books, highlighting useful passages and underlining grammatical phrases in an academic way.
Other books leave me bored or I’ve even thrown them across the room if they irritate me!

 

[StillStunned]

If I read more stories on Lit, I wouldn't be writing things like this:

I loved Poppy, and I wasn’t freaked out by female sexuality or nudity, but I didn’t have any desire to engage in lesbian sex. All those studies proclaiming that whatever proportion of the female population have lesbian tendencies generally ignore the large group who don’t.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

If I read more stories on Lit, I wouldn't be writing things like this:

Don't you know? Women are like spaghetti, we're only straight until you get us hot and wet.

 

[StillStunned]

Don't you know? Women are like spaghetti, we're only straight until you get us hot and wet.

This one will just have to go in Fantasy then.

 

[Statius]

Don't you know? Women are like spaghetti, we're only straight until you get us hot and wet.

Hilarious