Saturday 11 August 2012

On Reading

When I decided to have a serious go at writing about 12 months ago one thing I did was start looking around at what advice was out there about writing. One of the messages that was repeated many times was, "A good writer must also be a reader." At first I went, "Great, I'm a reader.", but then I realized that it was no longer true. I'd actually stopped being a reader.

I came to reading late. I could not read until I was 10 years old, but I then tried to make up for lost time. I also had a desire to write from the very beginning. The first book I read was The Hobbit and I wanted to write stories just like it. I also discovered comics and ended up creating a whole pantheon of Super Hero's in my head. As I grew, I read great Science Fiction writers like Asimov Heilein, Herbert and Dick, and great fantasy writers like Tolkien, Moorcock, Leiber and Le Guin.  (There many other writers I could name these are just a sample.)They all inspired me to want to write, but I never did.

In time, the tasks of life gradually took over and I read less and less. At first I began to just re-read my old books, never finding the time to discover new ones. However, over time I mostly stopped even doing that. I never stopped completely.

The passion for reading has returned with my quest to be a writer. In some ways it is almost over whelming, but I might keep that for another post.

2 comments:

  1. Keep on reading, Rick. Set yourself a goal of one book a month, or one book every two months (depending on length). It's about what I can manage at the moment.
    Adam B @revhappiness

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