Any writer will say to write well, you must read well (and widely). Every writer I know is as happy to talk about the latest great book they’ve read as well as what they’re working on. Why would you write if you didn’t love books and stories in the first place? There are two sides to this coin.
Image Credit: A big thanks to my guests for supplying photos. Unless otherwise stated, the book and library pictures come, as always, from those magnificent people at Pixabay.
I asked writer friends three questions about what books mean to them.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
This is to be the one book they’d save from disaster. Now this is something every writer would loathe. The thought of only saving one book… argh! Still, I asked anyway!
2. What does reading mean to you?
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
Many thanks to all of the guest authors taking part. Included in this three part series are local writers, friends from the Association of Christian Writers, Swanwick Writers’ Summer School, and Bridge House Publishing and Cafelit. I’d love to know which one book you would save too.
There is a good range of genres represented here from children’s fiction to YA to fantasy to flash fiction to women’s commercial to Scottish crime. Some writers here wear more than one writing hat but we all owe our love of writing to the love of reading that triggered it.
I’ll start with fellow Bridge House and Cafelit author, Dawn Kentish Knox. If you’re interested in historical fiction and intrigued by how that can be done in flash fiction, check out her collection, The Great War.
Dawn Kentish Knox
1. What is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book is The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett who is also my favourite author. It’s hard to say if this is the best of his books but it was the first I read and after that introduction, I was entranced. I loved the humour, ingenious plots and wonderful characters, especially the Luggage – the enchanted and sentient chest. It was my introduction to many more Pratchett gems.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading has always been my escape. I’m an only child, so when young, I loved to ‘disappear’ into a book and lose myself up the The Faraway Tree with Enid Blyton’s characters or in The Chalet School in the Austrian Tyrol with Elinor M. Brent-Dyer’s girls.
Throughout my life, I’ve read fiction for pleasure but recently, I’ve become interested in both World Wars and have started reading non-fiction, particularly biographies of people living during those eras. It’s been inspiring to read about their courage and exploits.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
When I read an exciting or beautifully written book, it makes me try harder to improve my writing. Sometimes it prompts me to attempt something new. As well as noting what I find interesting or effective, it’s useful to determine what I dislike and then to analyse it to discover why. Hopefully, then, I can avoid making the same mistakes.
Author of:
THE GREAT WAR – 100 Stories of 100 Words Honouring Those Who Lived and Died 100 Years Ago.”
EXTRAORDINARY Tales to take you out of this world.
WELCOME TO PLOTLANDS and A TOUCH OF THE EXOTIC – historical romances set in Essex.
DAFFODIL AND THE THIN PLACE YA adventure story.
Allison
I’m not arguing about choosing Terry Pratchett as a favourite author! My favourite from the Discworld canon is tough to call but the best character for me is Sam Vimes and I’d probably plump for Men at Arms as best book but it isn’t the one I’d save – no spoilers… oh hang on, I guess that was one. Never mind. Moving on….
Now to local author, Damon Wakes. Damon and I made up the flash fiction corner at the book event held in the Age Concern Hall in Brownhill Road a while ago.
Damon L Wakes
1. What is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book is probably Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers. It’s a humongous tome, set in a bizarre fantasy world of floating cyclops islands and talking dogs with antlers, and yet everything that happens makes perfect sense.
Reading it as a reader, it’s a gripping story in its own right, but reading it as a writer it’s particularly impressive how Moers manages to set up all the details the plot later depends on. Also, the plot follows the basic structure of a classical epic, which I think is a nice touch.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading specifically doesn’t mean a lot to me: I think what matters are the stories. It’s not particularly important to me whether I’m reading or listening to a book (or even watching a film, though there’s enough of a difference there that the stories aren’t told quite the same way).
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
I think the biggest impact my reading has had on my writing is it’s given me an ear for tone. The way you tell a story – especially the way the characters speak – will be very different depending on whether it’s set in a medieval fantasy land or a brutal post-apocalyptic future (unless you’re specifically aiming for a medieval fantasy-style post-apocalyptic future). It’s very difficult to maintain a consistent tone without first gaining an understanding of how other authors achieve it and what readers are likely to expect.
1 killer
10 suspects
10 trillion miles from help
Allison
Damon is right in that authors shouldn’t worry about formats. We want people to take in stories. I love The Lord of the Rings but other family members would never read that huge trilogy. They were gripped by the films though!
What can be fascinating is seeing how adaptations work – what has the scriptwriter taken out of the book, what have they left in, where there are changes. You can learn a lot by working out why the scriptwriter has done this. (And there will always be a place for books. People have predicted the death of the book for a long time. It is still here!).
Brenda Sedgwick
Now to local author Brenda Sedgwick, who is a retired Creative Writing tutor from Winchester and Sri Lanka. Her first book, Marriage, a Journey and a Dog, will soon be joined by The Trinket Wife. Both novels are set in Hampshire and in France, are about relationships that fail in middle life, and are told with a sense of humour and a positive note.
1. What is your favourite book and why?
The most memorable book I have read is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s an insight into how blind belief becomes misguided. The story is told through the wife of an evangelical Baptist missionary. Living in the Belgian Congo is not as expected or hoped for and fraught with problems. The wishes of the father are inflicted on his family. The family are brilliantly crafted characters, exploring different points of view of their situation. It is a well-researched book, set in the Belgian Congo in 1959. Note to self – read this book again.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading fiction is a window into the lives of characters, it‘s escapism from daily life. A well-crafted book adds a dimension of interest to the past or illuminates the present. I’m not a reader of books depicting the future or sci-fi. Reading is self-indulgent and thought provoking. I cannot imagine life without books or the freedom to read whatever I want to. I enjoy discussing books and listening to the views of other readers.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
I don’t only read what I like to write. I read some books I don’t think I will like, so I understand a cross section of readers better. I like to think the story I’ve written will be remembered, leaving the reader with lasting thoughts and feelings. When I find a book that does this for me I love it.
I like characters I can relate to in both what I read and write. The right chosen setting can make the reading experience memorable. Researching settings for writing is an opportunity for travel and for talking to people. For Marriage, A Journey and A Dog I chatted to many owners of small dogs as well as tracing Natalie’s journey through France. A well-researched book gives it depth. I don’t like to read or write stories churned out to a format, although I recognise many people do.
It adds to my reading and writing experience to know about other authors, not only what they write about but why.
Allison
It’s always wise to read widely, in and out of your preferred genres, including non-fiction. I’ve found ideas for stories spark from there. I always learn lots from other authors’ experiences too.
Now to Gill James, author and publisher (Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit, Chapeltown Books amongst others).
Gill James
1. What is your favourite book and why?
This is difficult. I have a few “favourites” and on different days I’d choose different ones. Since you sent this question I’ve stayed with Elaine Walker’s The Horses. It is very absorbing and just right for when disaster strikes. Disaster strikes in the story as a pandemic which leaves the protagonist and family stranded in Scotland where they were holidaying. They have to learn how to be farmers quickly. The horses arrive and bring them hope. I only read the book because I met Elaine at a conference and we got on well. I’m so glad I did buy the book. It is beautifully written, atmospheric, and it also brings the reader hope.
2. What does reading mean to you?
Reading is my default activity. My grandmother used to say “Why have you got your head in a book? You should be doing something useful with your hands.” I did get her point but couldn’t explain why I needed to read. I read ludically (no that isn’t a typo – ‘playfully’ ) i.e. I stop seeing the marks on the page and just get a picture in my head. I’ll hesitate about buying new clothes or new items for the home but I never hesitate about buying a book that appeals. I’m a compulsive reader. I see words I read them – perhaps even the breakfast cereal packet over and over.
Joining the library when I was a child was a boon. I learnt to swim in the Easter holidays when I was in the second year at junior school. The library and the swimming pool were next-door to each other. I got through most of the Secret Seven and Famous Five books that holiday. Swim for a couple of hours in the morning, pop into the library before getting home for lunch, then read all afternoon and evening. Heaven! I still read 50-100 books a year (i.e. one or two a week). Holidays are for reading aren’t they? I read a mixture of children’s books, YA, serious fiction, more frivolous fiction, academic books and non-fiction.
I source my books from the library, ones I find on social media, word of mouth recommendations, book events from writers I know and recommendations from Goodreads, Amazon and email lists I’m on. I have a huge number of books on my Kindle and quite a few hard copies on my “to read” shelf. I read for about forty minutes in the morning over the first cuppa, about twenty in the evening before I sleep, and any time in the day whilst I’m waiting for the computer to reboot. My study has tall book shelves along three walls. We have another in the kitchen and two in our dining area. Yep. Books and reading are pretty important.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer?
I’ve “caught” writing by reading. I know how language works because I read it so much it goes in. Interestingly when I was a language teacher we saw reading and writing as complementary skills. Reading is passive and writing is active. I learnt a lot of my foreign languages because I read a lot in them. The same happens with creative writing.
I’m not much of a poet but if I read a lot of poetry, suddenly I can write it. Sometimes that inner editor steps in and says “This writer has managed that really well, now, how did they do it?” Some writers are afraid if they read a lot they’ll not form their own voice. I don’t find this to be true. Reading gives you more control over and understanding of language so you can get it to do what you need it to do so you can be yourself.
Allison
Now there’s an interesting thought from Gill and it ties in with my comment over Brenda’s piece. You do take in what you read and learn more than you might realise! Happy reading, everyone!
Next week, I’ll be talking to Jennifer C Wilson, Anne Wan, Richard Hardie, and Patricia M Osborne. I hope by the time the series ends, between us, we’ll have “saved” a wide variety of books and genres.
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:
Difficult questions to answer Allison.
1. Favourite book. My tutor distinguished between books you read with a pen and paper at your side and books you can read with your feet on the fender. For the former I choose Plato’s Republic, for the latter, any book about gangsters or spies, which unlike the former are enjoyable.
2. What does reading mean to you? Following the above distinction, work, alternating with pleasure. I started to read with Greek myths and developed into reading Superman comics, and then learned that Superman was a creation of the ancient Greek writers.
3. How has reading helped you develop as a writer? To write philosophy books I have to read a massive number of philosophy books. To write fiction I would recommend reading the early Greeks, especially Sophocles’ Antigone. Most of the great and popular writers, from Scott Fitzgerald to J.P Sartre were steeped in the classics.
Many thanks for your answers, David. The toughest question is the first one! I can’t think of anyone I know who would stick to just saving one book but it has been interesting finding out what people treasure most. Over the series as a whole, it makes for quite an impressive reading list!
Great subject. Just to let everybody know,the National Trust at Mottisfont are always looking for donations of books to sell in their Second Hand book shop. Any amount,any subject,fiction or non fiction,all welcome. They can be left at the entrance,and don’t have to be carried to the bookshop. All money raised goes to projects at Mottisfont.
Many thanks for letting us know, Larry. I hope the bookshop does well!
Right on with this series, Allison! It’s interesting to see how each writer answered the questions. Ioved it all, especially your comments at the end of each person’s piece. Great job pulling this all together. I’m already looking forward to the next installment!!
Many thanks, Jim. Between us all we’ve “saved” a lot of interesting books and such variety too.