Reading and WritingshrewreaderOctober 4 2004, 13:42:19 UTC
I don't think I've ever tried to stop reading while writing. I've read King's book On Writing, and found it very helpful -- and reassuring to know that I was not the only one with bats in the belfry or guys in the basement, whichever. On the other hand, I tend to be a significantly different sort of writer from the majority here.
The overwhelming majority of writing I do is non-fiction. Memos, reports, analyses, correspondence and various bits of errata from RL require an awful lot of thought to be put into them. I'm about to sit down and do an anlysis of why the joint venture I just left (see my LJ for details) and why it is going to blow up in the face of the participants. The nature of my work requires that I write and read simultaneously: journals, periodicals, etc. all need constant reading to keep me up to date on the latest and greatest innovations to keep me and my clients from getting our money.
And by the time the day is done, the last thing you'd think I'd want to do is write still more. Nope! Out of the closets creep the muses, being nuisancy on dog walks, and demanding that I spend time working on them. And by the end of the day, I need to unwind without typing, so out come the books. Lately it's been Archer, Prattchett and Gaiman. Next week, who knows?
This, mind, on top of the other stuff I've got going, class and life-wise.
I find that for me it is less a matter of whether or not I read what I'm writing than how much other stuff I've got going on, I guess. My most productive period was in grad school. Levels of depression have a lot to do with it, too.
Post vis a vis outlining coming in a bit -- must go fetch.
The overwhelming majority of writing I do is non-fiction. Memos, reports, analyses, correspondence and various bits of errata from RL require an awful lot of thought to be put into them. I'm about to sit down and do an anlysis of why the joint venture I just left (see my LJ for details) and why it is going to blow up in the face of the participants. The nature of my work requires that I write and read simultaneously: journals, periodicals, etc. all need constant reading to keep me up to date on the latest and greatest innovations to keep me and my clients from getting our money.
And by the time the day is done, the last thing you'd think I'd want to do is write still more. Nope! Out of the closets creep the muses, being nuisancy on dog walks, and demanding that I spend time working on them. And by the end of the day, I need to unwind without typing, so out come the books. Lately it's been Archer, Prattchett and Gaiman. Next week, who knows?
This, mind, on top of the other stuff I've got going, class and life-wise.
I find that for me it is less a matter of whether or not I read what I'm writing than how much other stuff I've got going on, I guess. My most productive period was in grad school. Levels of depression have a lot to do with it, too.
Post vis a vis outlining coming in a bit -- must go fetch.
--Shrewkate
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