In another installment of what to do when you're blocked, another option is to seek inspiration. Or, rather, do what you did when you were an author in training.
I didn't know I was an author in training as a child and as a teen, when I read obsessively. I clearly remember the first book I really loved--I believe I was about three years old. I don't remember the title, but it was about a train, all the things the train carried, and the people on the train.
I went from there to read just about everything I could lay my hands on. When I was a teen I was a little bit more organized. I had a science fiction phase in which I read sci-fi from A to Z, literally from Asimov to Zelazny. Then I read
every British murder-mystery I could, starting with Holmes of course, moving through Sayers and Christie. Then I started to read Regency Romance. Going to college interrupted my unplanned unconscious reading schedule. But I still read novels almost exclusively with the exception of British histories, mostly by Thomas Costain.
I didn't realize what I was doing at the time, but the obsessive reading of pop fiction educated me in the basics of writing pop fiction. I unconsciously learned everything from the overarching notion of story down through plot characterization conflict and even proper sentence structure.
I make the point in my book About Writing, as follows:
Writing a book starts long before you open your new journal,
or begin a new document on your computer and type “Chapter One.” You need to
have read a lot of books, and I don’t mean craft works like this manual. Read,
but not just anything.
Aspiring writers are often told, “read in your genre.” But
Faulkner said, “Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and
bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice
and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good,
you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.”
I don’t completely agree with the above advice. Mine is: Read
well-written books.
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| https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/628973 |
What books are they? Try using the internet to search for
lists of the best books ever written in English, or whatever language in which
you’re planning to write. Do not read translated books. While many are great,
you want to read excellent books by those who have mastered all aspects of
writing. Book translators possess extremely refined skills, and writing an
original work from start to “the end” is not often among them.
Be selective. While reading works such as Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight in the original middle English may be
interesting and educational, you want to read books that are written in the
version of English we use, so as to accustom your ear and your mind to modern,
grammatically correct language.
The purpose of extensive reading is not to entertain but to
enlighten. Pay attention to what you’re reading. Read books that call to you
more than once, to figure out why they’re compelling. Look at the big picture
aspects first: character and conflict, plot and story. During the next reading
you can analyze narrower mechanical concerns such as word choice and sentence
structure. Ask yourself, “How does this writer use these tools to elicit a
particular reaction from the reader?”
Third reading: start looking for subtleties such as
symbolism, subtext, and theme. How does the writer express these? What images
does the author employ? What words does she choose? How long or short are
sentences, paragraphs, chapters? Why?
It’s not the purpose of this treatise to teach everything
there is to know about every aspect of fiction writing. It’s not possible. But
reading programs your brain in particular ways. I emphasize reading modern
works, works that use the same sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary
common in contemporary fiction. Read to increase your knowledge of, and command
over, your tools: words, sentences, paragraphs, scenes. Read great books over
and over again. Learn an appreciation for the English language and good
writing, even down to correct apostrophe placement and comma usage.
Reading well-written books will imprint strong storytelling,
correct grammar, and good sentence structure upon your mind, and it’s a lot
easier to learn by reading than by taking classes. A lifetime of good reading
can create a good writer. You’ll become a more able author, especially if
you’re writing as well as reading, such as keeping a journal or making notes.
It doesn’t really matter what you’re writing at this phase. If you’re writing
fiction, great. If not, that’s okay too.
All of this is to encourage becoming thoroughly fluent in
the English language. If you aren’t, the sad truth is that you needn’t try to
write anything more complex than a shopping list or a thank-you note. Readers
know what good writing is and isn’t, and they can be as unforgiving about
sloppiness as the plastic surgeon’s patient.
Law school interrupted my reading. I did not realize how much I missed it until
after I had graduated and I found that something in my life was missing. My eye fell upon a copy of Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, one of my favorites, and I realized that I had not read a novel in 3 years.
Because I'm blocked, I'm back to reading. I used to read books that I loved, and rewatch TV and movies that I adored, but now I don't do that very often. A book has to be amazing for me to reread it, and the same is true of films. I like new things. I like novelty, and I like to learn something new when I can.
And so I've returned to my roots, and am again reading fanatically. And enjoying every word.
Right now I'm reading all of Nora Roberts' The Obsession. What are you reading?
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