But we hardly have enough time to squeeze in a daily (or weekly) spurt of writing time. As well, the perennial fear of losing one's "touch" if we start a new novel in the middle of writing our own pops up. And then there's the issue of what to read, exactly. If I write contemporary, does that mean I can only learn from like contemporary novels? It's enough to turn a writer off books totally. ...Well, probably not. After all, we loved books enough to try our hand at this career.
The best way to tackle these problems, for me, is to set a reading goal.
Kind of like a word quota, this reading goal will be specific, achievable and balanced. (I'm feeling like a personal trainer of some sort now, hehe...) For a very basic guideline, all you have to do is set a specific number of books you want to have finished by the end of the year. Of course, being the type A personality that I am, I came up with two more guidelines you can apply to build your to-read list:
Age category & genre. If you'd like to focus on sci-fi middle-grade and dabble in fantasy on the side, go ahead and tweak your list. A while later you might want to get back into the groove of writing contemporary. In that case, switch a few titles up your list, easy-peasy.
Checkpoints. Saying you want to read fifty books by the end of August is perhaps just a little too broad. Checkpoints are dandy little things that can help keep you on track. (Okay, now I really feel like a personal trainer.) Try setting a goal to read a certain number a month -- and make adjustments for holidays, too. For example, spring break's just started. So, I decided to plow through at least ten books in my ginormous stack of library books this week. I might not make it, but then again, I might! (And if I don't, I'll probably be paying some fines pretty soon...)
Over the book blogosphere you'll find tonnes of reading challenges in all varieties aimed specifically at helping you, well, read books. Or you could keep it simple and just aim for a number. Whichever route you choose, you can't go wrong; after all, you're reading. What could be more right?
--Yahong
PS: As for me, I've read thirty-four books so far. Seeing how it's only March... I'm optimistic. ;) What's your goal this year?
Yahong, I'm so impressed! 34 is amazing to have read so far! I so agree with reading to write your genre. I'm a painfully slowwwwwwwwwwwww reader and my daily life if crazy, so if I can squeeze in a few books a month I'm happy!
ReplyDeleteI think my writing has improved considerably since I began reading more MG and YA books. Since I'm a voracious reader, I don't find it difficult to squeeze them in, although I do sometimes find it difficult now to enjoy books written for adults!
ReplyDeleteI've probably read ten books this year. That is a lot for me. It takes me at least a week to read anything.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Yahong. I don't set annual personal reading goals, but that's because I am always reading. I would say I've read perhaps 15-20 books this year, but I don't keep track of the numbers. Even when I'm caught up in writing I am reading. I kind of see it as research. For example, I am reading STORMBREAKER, which I surprisingly hadn't read before, and I make notes on my Kindle. "This is cool" or "having a problem with the believability" or "nice characterization here" and things like that. It, even below conscious levels, adds to my grab-bag of writing tools and tricks. I believe reading is paramount to developing as a writer. Again, great post!
ReplyDeleteI'm such a bookworm I have no problem making time to read. It's the other things I have to make time for, heehee! I don't set specific book reading goals, but since I always have a huge pile of books to read, I'll look at how many pages or chapters there are. Then I decide how many pages or chapters I'll read each day. This way I won't spend too much time on one work so I can get through all the wonderful books faster!
ReplyDeleteMy listed goal at Goodreads is 50 books, but I'm nearly halfway there, so I'm secretly hoping to hit 100 this year. :-)
ReplyDeleteSpring break?! Lucky you. We have 2 weeks to go.
ReplyDeleteI aim for a middle grade book a week, which I review on Middle Grade Mafioso every Monday. But I'm currently reading George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones for my men's testosterone-fueled book club. 800 pages long. Gonna take more than a week.
Good post! It's a tricky balance for me if I'm writing a certain type of book, I don't want to read anything too close while I'm working on my own project. Right now I'm working on a historical set in 1968, and I just can't imagine reading any MG even set in the 20th century until it's done.
ReplyDeleteI try to read an MG or YA book a week to keep up on what's out there and what's new, but some weeks it doesn't happen. Some weeks I get obsessed with some adult fiction or nonfiction that I don't want to put down. I also started out the year with great intentions of keeping track of everything on Goodreads, but that didn't happen either. Do good intentions at least warrant a cookie?