What Should You Read While Writing?

by Imogen Reed

Raise your hand if someone has told you that, as a writer, they never read other writers’ work.  ‘I don’t want to be influenced by anyone else’s style,’ you have probably heard said at a writing group or workshop. 

Their ban on reading may be limited to the time spent working on a particular project, such as a novel-in-progress, or perhaps is just an all-out refusal to let other writers’ voices into their heads. 

Expert writers published many times over have been known to say they a. don’t have time to read because they are too busy writing, and b. don’t want to be influenced.  Yes, they come off a bit cranky, a bit defensive– and you feel you’re being treated like a cold-caller who’s just offered them a better loan rate on their credit card.

Other writers read incessantly and keep photos of their favorite authors hung framed on the walls of their home office. Those writers not only scoff at the risk of influence to their work, their thrive on it and relish the inspiration provided courtesy of the great ones who came before.

Keeping this in mind, you may still be asking these questions:

• should risk being influenced by other writers?
• if you take this risk, what should you be reading?

A Matter of Influence

Recently, a well-respected architect who had just finished a project was accused of plagiarism in an online forum.  The two buildings, which were built in two different countries, had a few similar qualities.  A rebuttal coming from one fan of the architect was: ‘architecture is the story of people influencing other people who influence other people…’

The same may be said of writing. The craft of writing is, first and foremost, the craft of communication. Obvious though that may be, most writers would say that they were inspired to become writers because what they read in their formative years influenced them. Whether we do so consciously or not, we pay homage to the writers who influenced us.  Our styles already show influence, as we are not re-inventing the wheel with our writing. Not wanting to be influenced by other writers is like a chef saying they don’t want to eat because they might be influenced by other flavors. An extreme example, perhaps; but if you ask a person who is a passionate reader, it may not seem so extreme to them.

At the novice level, reluctance to read may also reflect the burgeoning writer’s level of confidence. As you read, you are likely to compare your unfinished manuscript to the work of a writer who has been published (perhaps several times over) and has had the benefit of using beta-readers, possibly their agent, not to mention their editor. This certainly can be damaging to self-esteem. It’s important to recognize that what you are doing is detrimental to the creative process. Writing, like any other form of expression (dance, music, and to return to an earlier example) takes years of training and practice. Think of a novice singer recording herself on a tape-recorder comparing herself to an album by a musical great, recorded in a studio and processed by a host of professionals. Is that a reason for her to stop singing? Of course not. 

What (Not) to Read

If you’re writing a novel about horse-racing, you may be tempted to order every novel on Amazon related to horses.  And here is where you stop, take a breath, press the delete button at check-out.  Research is one thing, but flooding the mind with other artistic images of horses is quite another.  It will be hard to be original in your perception of horses, when you’re only thinking about how Michael Morpurgo sees a horse (or Steven Spielberg, for that matter).  The best and most moving writing is that which is original, and that which approximates the experience in itself and captures its essence.  This can hardly be done as a third party.  Leave off of your subject matter and try to experience what you are writing about for yourself, i.e. go out and commune with nature, ride and groom the yourself, and leave other novels out of it for a while.  

Reading ‘How to Write’ Books

While using them is a matter of personal taste, there are endless volumes of ‘How to Write’ books out there for novice writers to peruse.  Cherry-pick from them, as they not only contain information about style, but also about things like writers’ rituals and research practices.  One of the best is ‘Your Creative Writing Masterclass’ by Jurgen Wolff, which is full of the quotes of celebrated authors of antiquity.  This is a great book for getting in touch with writers of the past, without ever picking up one of their novels.

Most of us who are writers cannot stop reading, even for a day. The process is different for everyone, however, and every writer will find his/her own unique methods.  The best advice, in every case, is to do what works best for you,  and once you do, not to adopt zealously what you read in advice columns like this one, but follow your own sense of what’s right.

One Librarian's Opinion of a Masters in Creative Writing

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by Carrie Bailey

Formal education can be useful, but despite every argument my professors give, I cannot ignore the simple fact that it is not necessary. The most important lessons I've learned have not been within the halls of higher learning. How do you deal with abusive bosses and the reality of earning a living doing what you love?

In my professor's office this afternoon, I was told that I had never worked as a librarian. I was librarian for two years. I cataloged, I budgeted, I weeded, I designed programs and I trained people to circulate the six thousand books I drove up logging roads to small communities. I provided kids with the fodder their imagination demanded. I brought the elderly all the words that trigger the memories of the best moments of a well lived life. I was a librarian. My coworkers were librarians. They had degrees and I did not.

In three months, I'll have a Masters in librarian science and I've learned a few things about higher education.

1. I don't need it.
2. I won't be better at my job than I was before.
3. It was expensive.

I'm also a writer. I've been paid to write and I've been published. But, what I have that no institution could give me or takeaway with an entire stockpile of guns wielded by rabid academics is the ability to learn. I can learn from other writers online and I can educate myself on writing.


My creative ability is determined by me and not a critic or an editor. The halls of academia is only one convenient place to be educated and your best lessons may even come from your classmates. I won't be pursuing a degree in creative writing during this lifetime and probably out of sheer stubbornness, I think I may just avoid it in the next life, too.

No one has the right to determine what you make of your career... of your passion. Professions are not owned by the individuals who sell degrees. They are nothing short of the total sum of an identity of individuals who engage in an activity that they love. Some of the greatest writers were not formally educated. They may never have been paid for their work. They may have self-published.

What every writer must have is guts and determination, passion and imagination. They've got to fight the pains of rejection. A writer must set themselves into their work while negotiating their skills and their style. They have connect with others and they have to above all entertain or inform.

If a degree helps, it helps the individual who has already found the passion within themselves to engage in the process, the activity, the community of writers and writing.

Enjoy the life of writer!

Small Press Browser

Small presses are an excellent way for early to mid-career authors to publish manuscripts. A small press is one that generates less than $50 million dollars annually.

When preparing to contact a small press remember:

• Research submission guidelines, previous publications by the press, and other significant information about each company before sending an email.
• Understand and follow the submission guidelines specific to the company being contacted.
• Be courteous. Don't point out punctuation mistakes on their website... (even if they reject your first manuscript, they may be interested in a later one).
• Be patient (the time it takes to find the right publisher is worth the effort). 

Here is a database organized by genres for you to browse within the this article. Although you may use a database, such as Duotrope with its submission tracker and detailed information about authors' experiences with 3500+ presses, there are always more new presses to discover and more to research. Good Luck!!

 

Small Presses by Genre: