Classics Help?

by Ritesh Nimmagadda
30th August 2013

Well, its been a very long time since I've written or continued my work, although I do have a reason. I have planned out my whole book and many that I hope shall come after it, and have got everything in my head. But I chose not to write, because I felt that(my general genre is Fantasy) I did not read, the pieces of works which I think to be Vital or root of the Genre, it self(I have not read LOTR and only have read Narnia partially) so, I am reading those works right now, but so long has passed and both my mind and hard seem to urge me on to hurry up and write but I feel I cannot until I read these, for I consider and sincerely hope that reading them, will help improve my own writing style. But my question- Is that the right thing to do?

For, I have been lost, with my nose under many books other than which I had hoped to read, but have ended up delaying the activity occupied with other pieces of writing I found rather good.

Replies

Your problem is time-management.

There is an easy solution. How many hours a week you read.

Halve the time you read. Use the hours you save to write.

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Adrian Sroka
30/08/2013

Hi Ritesh,

I think that it depends on the individuals involved - both the reader and the book. Embarrassingly, for far too many years of my life, I barely read at all, despite wanting to be a writer. Then I saw the light. Now I read like crazy, usually at least one book a week, and can't imagine doing anything with my life that isn't focussed on studying English literature (and hopefully writing it!!) As soon as I started reading 'good' books (ie classics, literary fiction etc.) my writing improved almost overnight. So I can see where you're coming from in that respect, and would say that, in my case, doing something similar proved very helpful indeed.

On the other hand ... I read far more than I write, and often get very dispirited that I did not write what it is that I'm reading. But still, I'd say that reading the classics of your genre is definitely the right thing to do. Reading good books not only immerses you in wonderful writing, but also helps to familiarise yourself with basic things like the structure of novels. While it sounds as though you need no help in that respect, having already planned several books, it's never directly unhelpful. I also often find that reading a really good book makes me want to write - so perhaps when you've finished you'll feel more inspired than ever. I suppose it's just striking a balance, somewhere - good luck, and I'm sorry I don't seem to have made a very coherent or conclusive point! :-)

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Alice Cattley
30/08/2013

"my mind and hard" - not hard, Heart :P

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30/08/2013