Saturday, August 13, 2011

Reading from a New Perspective

When I was younger, before I had kids and when I had time to sit for hours and immerse myself in a novel, I read to escape into whatever world the author of the day created for me.  I suspended disbelief and inhaled the story until I got to the last page. 

Now that I've been writing seriously for just over a year and have spent time giving and receiving critiques, something has changed in my reading style.  Now when I read, even something I've read and loved before, I read it as if I'm reading to give a critique.  I note what I like and don't like about word choice, imagery, the way the author handles transitions, chapter titles, everything.  I can't help but stop when I encounter punctuation I would change. 

I have to say it really is getting in the way of my enjoyment of reading.   

4 comments:

  1. I think that becoming a writer TOTALLY RUINS reading books! I took a writing class from Brandon Sanderson. He said that eventually that goes away, and you can just read for enjoyment again. I REALLY hope he is right!

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  2. @Peggy - I hope so too.

    @Shelly - Oh, no - you got it too? :)

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  3. It hasn't hit me yet. Well, no more than before. Some books stood out before I even became an author.

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