Ramblings Post #215
To be a good writer, you need to read good writing. But you can't copy it, or even borrow from it. Not literally. What you can take from it is the feeling, the sensation. If you've done it right you can read your own prose and get the same sensation as reading a new novel. It's exhilarating. It's why I've been writing since I was twelve. Now, if I could just get re-writing and editing down....oh, the glory.
One of the things I gave up in my preparations for the bar was casual reading. To give my brain a break I would occasionally do a something quick like a crossword puzzle or play a PC strategy game that only involved the occasional pushing of a button, during which the interval between presses could sometimes extend into days. I must have a half dozen games of Dwarf Fortress started that I quit because when I got back to them there was no way to apply the Rule of Perpetuities (crazy hard legal concept). So, yesterday, after a late breakfast I made my first trip to the book store in months and bought a book. No, two books.
There is nothing quite like a cold day, a couch, a warm throw and a good book. It's almost magical somehow. And I don't mean a Kindle or Nook, but an actual paper and binding book. The weight in your hand makes it better somehow.
Side note - I don't trust Kindle, a device on which I understand Amazon can TAKE THE BOOKS BACK at their discretion. The idea of waking up and finding my books gone? Talk about nightmare.
A good book moves you. It makes you cheer for the hero, lets you peer into the mind of the villain, and does it all while forcing your mind to fill in all the "fiddly bits" of background and color. It's a medium that makes you use your imagination, which is why I get so depressed when a good book is turned into a movie and the director gets it wrong. Or tries to fix the story. Or cut parts out that are too complicated or difficult to explain.
But enough of this. I got reading to do.
Barkeep. I need a bowl of Rice Krispies. No, a box of Rice Krispies. Don't judge me.
To be a good writer, you need to read good writing. But you can't copy it, or even borrow from it. Not literally. What you can take from it is the feeling, the sensation. If you've done it right you can read your own prose and get the same sensation as reading a new novel. It's exhilarating. It's why I've been writing since I was twelve. Now, if I could just get re-writing and editing down....oh, the glory.
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| My purchases |
There is nothing quite like a cold day, a couch, a warm throw and a good book. It's almost magical somehow. And I don't mean a Kindle or Nook, but an actual paper and binding book. The weight in your hand makes it better somehow.
Side note - I don't trust Kindle, a device on which I understand Amazon can TAKE THE BOOKS BACK at their discretion. The idea of waking up and finding my books gone? Talk about nightmare.
A good book moves you. It makes you cheer for the hero, lets you peer into the mind of the villain, and does it all while forcing your mind to fill in all the "fiddly bits" of background and color. It's a medium that makes you use your imagination, which is why I get so depressed when a good book is turned into a movie and the director gets it wrong. Or tries to fix the story. Or cut parts out that are too complicated or difficult to explain.
But enough of this. I got reading to do.
Barkeep. I need a bowl of Rice Krispies. No, a box of Rice Krispies. Don't judge me.
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