Do you read Fiction?

[badgerjelly]

This may sound rather bizarre, but I do not read fiction anymore. I have not read a single novel for roughly a decade.

Do you think it is necessary to continually keep reading fiction if you want to write good fiction?

What do you think are the benefit of abstaining from reading fiction and the benefits of reading fiction?

Curious to see if I am the only fiction writer who does not read fiction anymore.

 

[defaux]

I absolutely do, but I am still studying and learning from what I read. Techniques, styles, concepts, themes. When I come across something that works really well, that I like, I try to figure out how I can make that work for me.

My writing would certainly not be where it is currently (and I will hopefully continue to grow and improve) without the benefit of reading some of the amazing authors that provide such influence.

That's me, though. I know other authors who don't read at all, and successfully produce their own work. I don't perceive how they feed their creativity, but maybe they have a greater natural supply than I.

Benefits of abstaining, I could only speculate, but I could understand that external influences may colour your style or ideas in ways that you don't want. Once an idea has been seen, it can be difficult to forget it.

So, while I find it necessary to consume quality fiction to grow myself, I don't believe that is requisite for everyone. If you find your creative process works without fresh input, then go for it. You assuredly aren't alone.

Curious, though, as it strikes me as an odd dichotomy. If you don't enjoy reading, what is it about writing that attracts you?

 

[badgerjelly]

I absolutely do, but I am still studying and learning from what I read. Techniques, styles, concepts, themes. When I come across something that works really well, that I like, I try to figure out how I can make that work for me.

My writing would certainly not be where it is currently (and I will hopefully continue to grow and improve) without the benefit of reading some of the amazing authors that provide such influence.

That's me, though. I know other authors who don't read at all, and successfully produce their own work. I don't perceive how they feed their creativity, but maybe they have a greater natural supply than I.

Benefits of abstaining, I could only speculate, but I could understand that external influences may colour your style or ideas in ways that you don't want. Once an idea has been seen, it can be difficult to forget it.

So, while I find it necessary to consume quality fiction to grow myself, I don't believe that is requisite for everyone. If you find your creative process works without fresh input, then go for it. You assuredly aren't alone.

Curious, though, as it strikes me as an odd dichotomy. If you don't enjoy reading, what is it about writing that attracts you?

I enjoying reading immensely, just not fiction.

Writing is thinking concretely. I mostly write non-fiction, and techincal stuff at that. The fiction is more or less playing with poetic styles or feeding my own personal mythos.

I have little idea why fiction suddenly stopped entertaining me. Maybe it is just that I see reading non-fiction as more beneficial to me as things stand. I guess my underlying thought is simply 'why read it when writing it is or far greater interest to me'.

 

[Stuart Dren]

Do you think it is necessary to continually keep reading fiction if you want to write good fiction?

Well, 'continually' is the interesting word there. Occasionally you'll hear a novice writer ask a question along, "Can I write about an elephant with three ears?" or even something simpler to do with very basic format or POV. The obvious reason they have that question is they simply haven't actively read a variety of fiction nor do they have an interest in doing so. Their personal library is so small that it creates trepidation; they've not build a subconscious index of the what, the how, the why, and instead look to rules (and now LLMs) for guidance. Often they were inspired by a different format, but writing just happens to be the most accessible. These are the ones most likely to use gen AI for their writing anyway, so this is all becoming moot. Eh, digression.

If you've already read a certain amount of fiction, meaning your internal guiding light is developed, I don't think it's necessary for you to keep reading it. I think something like history (some historians like to arrange it like a story—gosh it's in the word isn't it? digression no. 2) would still pack you full of ideas if you ever ran low.

What do you think are the benefit of abstaining from reading fiction and the benefits of reading fiction?

I can't imagine a benefit to abstaining. I think originality comes from reference to normality, which we're constantly updating. That is, tropes and what we do with them. To be extreme: if you erased my memory but left my subpar prose ability intact, I might think it's quite original that a farm boy is faced with the obligation of fulfilling his destiny and taking the fight to the dark lord, all executed in the most basic of forms. My potential's been limited.

I have little idea why fiction suddenly stopped entertaining me. Maybe it is just that I see reading non-fiction as more beneficial to me as things stand. I guess my underlying thought is simply 'why read it when writing it is or far greater interest to me'.

I have been, and still am, inspired by my joy of reading fiction. I've read enough of it that I'm Always a Critic™ though I even enjoy the missteps, the lacking potential of generic aspects, the occasional phoned-in dialogue. I'm happy to experience it again and again even if it's the same four chords in a different pop song.

That's me, though. If I read a great book, and I later see in the author bio "PesterJam lives with his five cats and four wives. He hasn't read a lick of fiction in over a decade." It's not going to change the fact that it is a great book.

 

[Rzero]

This question comes up a lot on these forums. The fact is, I've never heard a professional writer (published/successful/respected/whatever) say that they don't read. I've only seen that from aspiring writers on forums. Most pros read pretty constantly, from what I can tell.

Personally, I believe reading is the absolute best way to learn writing. I wasn't reading much when I started writing many years ago. I later discovered audiobooks and became addicted. I chew through 70-90 books a year now, and I've learned so much. I've never formally studied pacing and structure, but I understand story progression in my bones at this point.

When I want to know how to tackle a certain aspect of writing I've never dealt with before, I read books featuring that element and learn how to do it right. I also learn what not to do, because you can learn almost as much from bad examples as from good ones.

Do you have to read to write? I don't know. Maybe not, but wouldn't you listen to some music if you wanted to be a musician?

Throw some craft books into the mix as well. My favorite so far is On Writing by Stephen King. It helped me a great deal, as have several others. If you're not a big reader, try the audiobook thing. It changed my life. And don't rely on movies for your education, either. You can learn a lot about storytelling from movies, sure, but film is a visual medium; books are not. They work differently in so many ways.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I used to be an avid reader of fiction. Then, as I devoted myself to my own writing, I turned more to non-fiction writing. It seemed to better inform my writing. Give me ideas, and let me run with that.

 

[THUNDAIR]

I've also have been concentrating on my work, and I've only read a few books last year some fiction some not. I enjoyed Mary Olivers A poetry Handbook, but I'm stuck in Tom Clancy's, Against All Enemies. I have started a few this year and I can't get my head into them. I maybe going through a phase.