Reading fiction books to improve as a author

[MageTheOne]

My life purpose is becoming a fiction author and recently I have started reading a lot of fiction books in order to improve my grammar, gain inspirasjon for my own books and understand how books are structured.

But ever since i have started reading fiction I have wandered if this is just me trying to escape improving myself or if reading fiction books is actually a great way for me to become better as a author?

Is fiction books bad or does it depend on how you read them?

Would love to have some more perspectives on this issue instead of only my own, thanks for posting (if you do).

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by MageTheOne

[universe]

This is very broad.

Cut your life purpose down into multiple steps or milestones. Then ask yourself what can I do to get the next step done.

You need to get very specific about what it is that you want.

[MageTheOne]

@universe I want to become a fiction author. When I did some research I found out many authors read books in order to improve their writing, so I started doing the same thing. But I am worried it might be a waste of time similar to video games.

My question is: How is reading fiction bad or good? Is there better ways I can improve my writing? 

Do I need to be more specific about my life purpose? Or the question I am asking? 

Hope this is not becoming complicated.

[universe]

Yes you need to be more specific.

What kind of fiction book you want to write? What style? Who are the main characters? What is their story? Etc.

If you just started your first step is to figure out the first step.

Maybe it is reading other peoples books, maybe it is writing your story, maybe it is scetching your characters, maybe it is a mix of all, maybe it is something completely different.

Only you can figure it out, even tho you might ask people who have already done it for help.

[MageTheOne]

I think i understand what you mean.

No other person then myself are capable of knowing what I want out of life. I need to take 100% responsibility from my life and stop relying on others to give me the perfect answer. 

Thank you,

[JosephKnecht]

Listen to the @universe.

Fiction books expand your imagination. 

Before you imagine the greatest story you want to create, you should examine what others have imagined by reading their books. 

[Danioover9000]

@MageTheOne

On 29/12/2021 at 5:36 PM, MageTheOne said:

My life purpose is becoming a fiction author and recently I have started reading a lot of fiction books in order to improve my grammar, gain inspirasjon for my own books and understand how books are structured.

But ever since i have started reading fiction I have wandered if this is just me trying to escape improving myself or if reading fiction books is actually a great way for me to become better as a author?

Is fiction books bad or does it depend on how you read them?

Would love to have some more perspectives on this issue instead of only my own, thanks for posting (if you do).

 

   Ah, another classic duality. Which came first: the creator, or the consumer? The value giver, or the value receiver?

   What fiction books are you reading at the moment? Which genre pulls you in strongly? How does your mind represent the immersion? How does the book effect your thinking, and emotional state?

   What stories do you write? Do you prefer pencil to paper, pen to paper, or typing using the computer? Have you also started stories (manuscripts, fanfiction ect.), but you tend to not complete them often?

   I don't find fiction books a waste of time, in fact I used to read them, and immerse myself deeply into the world and characters that sometimes I can roleplay as one, and feel what they're going through, and see from other perspectives. Usually from this state I sometimes have no choice but to write a story onto paper, otherwise my mind keeps spinning new ideas of how to mix this story with that story. It was a past hobby, and I sometimes took it serious that I would do research, look though many writer blogs, and learn hundreds of writing techniques, hundreds of ways to outline a story, plot and characters, that I ended up creating a very complex and detailed scripting/outline sheet that accounts for 95 % of the story, all key situations and character developments.

   

   

[puporing]

Stephen King recommends this, read a ton of books, fiction and non-fiction, history and whatnot. I guess it's not dissimilar to musicians having to practice a lot of what others have wrote, sort of like building blocks.. I feel like 'creativity' doesn't come out of thin air, it builds on top of things already in existence. Just my take though.

Edited January 22, 2022 by puporing

[Yarco]

Like any skill, it depends if you're doing deliberate practice or just do it for fun.

Pick 1 genre that you want to write your first book in, and only read books in that genre for a while. Become a master of that genre. What makes a good or bad book in that genre? What things do they all seem to have in common, what are the tropes and plot similarities between all of them? Don't read a fantasy book one day, a romance novel the next, sci-fi after that, mystery after that. You need to become an expert in just one.

Look at the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell and try to map it onto every fiction book you read.

Take notes while you're reading.

The truth is, fans of each genre have very specific expectations of what they're looking for. If you deviate too much, your book isn't likely to be that well-received. Everything from plot to cover art.

If you're just reading for escapism then the benefits will be much less, except maybe your vocabulary will grow a bit.

Don't worry about grammar or spelling. If English isn't your first language, then the fact you used "wandered" instead of "wondered" in your post is already a bad sign. The good news is you don't need good grammar to be an author, that's what editors are for. Accept your weaknesses and don't bother improving them, focus on your strengths first. Focus on being a great storyteller above all else.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Yarco

[Matt23]

Read on i say.  Especially if you want to become a fiction writer.  It totally makes sense. 

If you find it hard to accept, maybe treat it like research.  

Also, while you read, you can observe the ways and styles, even words, the author uses and make notes of them.  Be more intentional about it and be more of an active learner in the process.  Rather than doing it as mere pleasure and fun in a more relaxed way (which has its time and place as well).  

You could even study some non-fiction material about different styles and techniques in writing, and then as a case study, you could read a book that uses those.  Then, to up the stakes, you could even write your own piece in that style as practice, and them master each style.  

You can do anything in a master-mindset way or a relaxed-for-fun way.  You could even become a master at taking shits if you wanted.  It's just how you approach it.  Do you skim read and rush through the book unconsciously, missing pieces and never stopping to contemplate something you read or an idea that you got?  Or do you really take time to not only read it all more deliberately and ingest all the details, even minor ones, but also take time to write notes and reflect on what you read?  

I've also heard writers, Hunter S. Thompson at least, and I'm sure more, who literally just write out for themselves books by writeds they admire to get the hang of how they write.  I think Hunter S. Thompson said he rewrote a book by some famous authof like Twain or something multiple times just so he "ingested" the brilliance of hoe that author wrote and it would hopefully seep into his own writing.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Matt23