Comments on: Reading like a writer

By: Brynn

Brynn — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:01:42 +0000

I was just going to do an article on my blog about “Reading like a Writer.” I even had the same title for the post!

Anyway, I think you had some very good points there! In my case, it’s really, really hard for me to turn off that mode. If it does turn off, I usually don’t notice…and if a book can make me do that, I know it’s a good book because I am fully engrossed in it.

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:16:01 +0000

Greenknight – Some people can turn off (or mostly turn off) their ability to notice technique while reading; they can shift from “reading like a writer” to “just reading,” and if they’re “just reading,” they don’t pay attention to the how and why enough to be bothered by noticing technique, unless the use of technique is really clumsy. Some can’t turn it off, though, and if you’re one of those, well, you may just have to resign yourself to a higher class of reading material.

Gray – I think it’s a matter of integration and using the technique that’s right for the scene. It’s an extension of Mark Twain’s thing about the lightning and the lightning but – the difference between the right technique and the almost-right technique has that same radical difference to the sensitive palate. I wouldn’t worry about doing it yourself too much; the mistakes one really needs to be wary of are the ones one is not particularly aware of or sensitive to, not the ones that are on one’s personal I-hate-that list.

Matt – I’ll try to get to some of that in future posts!

By: Matt G.

Matt G. — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:02:36 +0000

Some of the “page turners” really seem to make me keep reading – against my will. One of the techniques that works, but that I hate, is to introduce a cliffhanger at the end of pretty much every chapter. Read on and see what happens! These are usually books I’ll read fast, but not read a second time.

Writers I like (present company included) get me interested in the characters themselves. “How will the Baron react when he finds out? What will Esther do when she realizes he lied?” That’s the kind of thing that makes me want to keep reading, instead of the brute force cliffhanger approach.

How do you get readers interested in the characters? That will be in my next comment, so keep reading! (All right, not really. I have no idea. That’s why I’m reading this blog, to find out.)

By: Gray Woodland

Gray Woodland — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:03:33 +0000

green_knight @ 4 – This is interesting:

There are a number of things – a Bickhamesque structure, various tricks to create tension, ways of manipulating the reader – that will work for may readers on an emotional level – but once you know how it’s done, they lose their shine.

because getting better at spotting techniques doesn’t always have that effect on me. Some of these, like an illusionist’s flourishes, actually add to my appreciation. Thinking about it, for me the difference is something like: do I get the sense of real people and real events dramatized to bring out truths about them, or only of arbitary crap made up to press a sequence of buttons?

The first brings me in on its side as reader and writer both, even if the technique is quite crude. The second just makes me bored and faintly queasy, however slick the execution.

Of course, that’s just the literary sin I’m most afraid of committing.

By: Esther

Esther — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:53:01 +0000

I’ve done that with everything from acting to video editing and embroidery, but I just realized that I’ve never actually analyzed the books I read for for the “how”. Think I’ll start now.

By: green_knight

green_knight — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:33:10 +0000

Amanda, the problem I have with page-turning is that I read as a writer. There are a number of things – a Bickhamesque structure, various tricks to create tension, ways of manipulating the reader – that will work for may readers on an emotional level – but once you know how it’s done, they lose their shine. Any time I feel ‘I’m supposed to root fot this character’ I get thrown out of the storyverse.

The conclusion is that for every technique you identify, you have to ask whether it’s appropriate for your book and your intended readership.

By: green_knight

green_knight — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:51:47 +0000

You might remember the days when you were asking ‘well, what is the writer doing there’ and I could only answer ‘I have no idea.’ Learning to read as a writer can be hard, but it can be learnt, and starting my writing journal where I pick up whatever book I read and focus on three or four things that work or don’t work for me has been a learning experience.

Some books I used to like are no longer books I can read, because the good bits no longer seem as good to me, and the problems stand out much more. On the other hand, I can appreciate a good book on more levels, which includes some books that I would not have loved for plot or character, so overall I would say that my appreciation has shifted to different books, but that I haven’t _lost_ anything by analyzing books in great detail.

By: Amanda C. Paige

Amanda C. Paige — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:07:36 +0000

I have plans to reread something popular that has been torn apart by critics. My purpose is to find out how the author creates page turners. I plan to pay close attention to pacing.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:44:16 +0000

Great post!
I’ve found that I have trouble going back to books I enjoyed years ago, though I’m not sure whether that’s because I’ve grown used to more sophisticated plots, or because, like you said, they “trip too many of [my] ‘clumsily done’ detectors.”

Brandon Sanderson (another incredible fantasy author) posted one of his books (Warbreaker) on his website so that fans can read it for free. Just as great, he posted some of his earlier drafts so that readers can see the changes he made in editing.