Write how we Read
Something I stumbled on the other day. I know alot of writers probably start to write for themselves or their families. Then you make a sale or two and think…maybe I can write and make some money as well. Now is the time to write. The question is “How do you Write?”
On a personal level I like reading fast paced books without to much indepth discription, therefore making my own mind up what I can see or not see. I realised today – after working with a client, that I write the way I enjoy reading. Fast paced, good flow and not a care about grammar, unless it brings your reading to a screeching holt. I enjoy using words I understand, accents I know. I enjoy writing a book where you can’t work out the ending, though I have books you know or think you know what may happen. I find these fun. I like it when it dawns on you…duh. LOL
I write like I talk or as if I am talking to someone. My muses converse with each other which is why my dialogue is like watching a movie or TV show. You can see what is taking place in front of you, especially if you let your imagination loose.
I don’t read books for grammar, I read to escape, to enjoy a dream, sometimes wondering what it would be like to be there in that time or space. Those with long descriptions I end up putting down because I am bored to death with too much background information.
So what type of fans do I need. Well I need the same type of readers as me. What fits me will fit those who read the same way. The next thing to find out is how to find those readers. I may just do a survey.
So what type of writer are you?
11 Responses
Anyone who reads me will see I write true to life, I write as I am, and as I talk. My hope as a rider is to bring you right into my situation as I experienced it, have you feel what I felt see what I saw taste what I tasted etc.
I think this is good conversation. And I am happy to be part of it.
I like reading books with description, romance and adventure. In my writing I try to keep my description to a minimum though and not like LM Montgomery.
When I taught college writing, I told students to write like they talk. But I didn’t mean, write like you really talk, because if we tape ourselves talking and play it back, we would never really want to read it. When we talk, we use language to create gaps to allow our brains to catch up with our words, backtrack to fill in details and add word farts, “like, Carol and I were driving, you know what I mean, when this bad ass cop, I mean really bad ass, six foot tall in navy blue, pulls us over, we were driving seventy, like, I mean we were in Dripping Springs which is about twenty miles south of Oak Hill, if you’ve never been out that way…”
Write like you talk is a metaphor (at least for me) for stripping the pretension out of your writing and scaling it down to communicate. In non-fiction that means make sure you get your point across simply. In fiction that means no distractions. Keep the reader in the story,
However, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for art, tropes, themes and metaphor. In fact, a book without them is a bare book indeed. But your art shouldn’t be woven into the story to show off your skill as an artist but to enhance the story. If it distracts the reader, if it draws attention to you and away from the story, then you might as well write poetry,
Only a good poet will tell you your art should never distract the reader from the poem. The only time you want the reader to dwell on the trope is when she reaches the last line and the image lingers and she thinks, “Wow.”
The art in a book should be like that. It lingers in your subconscious. You may not even be aware of it until someone points it out to you. The reader wants to ride in the passenger seat at full speed until you dump them out at the destination. Ride over. And his response should be. “Ride over? No way. Let me back in the car.”
Good points. Though I will admit I don’t generally speak in disjointed sentences.
Okay, I may turn this into a blog post.
Will be an interesting read.
I also wrote very much like I read. You will not find yourself bogged down in detail overload while reading my book or stories and I cannot read a book that is loaded with too much detail or way to much back thoughts/story. I get lost and my mind wanders and when that happens I generally walk away from the book. 😉 great post
I like fast pace and minimal description. I am a self proclaimed skimmer/skipper. If I’m reading a book and I really enjoy the plot and twists, I want put it down if there’s too much description. I simply skip or skim through it.
With that being said, I don’t read books that I know in advance have a lot of description in them.
I also write like I read 🙂 Great Blog!
What genre do you write?
My first novel is a romance. I had a great idea and MC’s already sketched out in my head so I went for it. I love the story reminds me of Hallmark meets Nicholas Sparks. It’s in the revision phase, I just finished the first draft.
With that being said I love
Star Wars, Star Trek, The Chronicles of Narnia, Sherlock Holmes, and King Arthur. When I pick out works to critique on scribophile, I almost always go for Scifi or Fantasy. So I may branch out. We’ll see.
Always a great experience to branch out. I also write many different genres. Depends on which muse is around at the time. Love The Narnia Chronicles and Sherlock Holmes for that matter 🙂 Good luck with your Romance book 🙂