Reading while writing.

[u/scared_mill9684]

Do you read books while you are writing stories?

Do you worknon a draft and then read in between each of the drafts to get a better sense of where you would like your writing to be?

Or do you read a genre that's completely different from what you're writing?

I ask because I feel like whenever I do reading while I'm trying to write my story I try to blend in ideas that I got while reading and it seems to be hindering me from completing my draft.

[u/Hunshari]

Oh gosh I never stop reading.

I'm partway through 5 books right now, one Audio, one hardcopy.

I think perhaps because I'm used to jumping between stories, I've never worried that it would affect my writing. (except in the ways that everything I've ever read affects my writing) I read mostly fantasy or historical fiction.

This may be because of my ADHD or maybe not.

It sort of gives me a break from each world to process without spending too much time without reading. I love it, but I have found it a difficult habit to get back into once I've lost my 'fitness'. Phones can be real distracting...

[u/MrMessofGA]

I read while I write because I read a lot and I write a lot, but I'm by zero means reading to know where my book will go. It's my book. I already did all the studying before I started it. It's not someone else's book.

Every once in a while, inspiration will strike me and I'll put my current project on hold to write a new one, but for the most part they're totally separate actions. I think about how I'd change their book instead of how I'd change mine

[u/babamum]

I write mainly literary novels right now (although I'm interested in other genres.)

I read mainly suspense novels, whenever the urge takes me.

[u/dendrite_blues]

I’m actually scared to ready genre while writing because I don’t want it to affect my project or make me doubt my own plans. I do read other genres tho.

[u/_WillCAD_]

Never stop reading. Never stop learning. Never stop fighting 'til the fight is done.

Here endeth the lesson.

[u/Waffle_Slaps]

Always. Currently in on a thriller kick, it helps me to understand the genre beats and where my pacing starts to derail.

[u/Subset-MJ-235]

I continue to read, but the reading material must be similar to the novel I'm working on. Basically, the same time period, same POV, and same or closely related genre.

[u/Dale_E_Lehman_Author]

I read every day and I write every day...well, most every day. They are separate activities, although of course everything is part of a whole.

[u/Notamugokai]

I read different genres and I take notes, while still having my WIP on-going. I also think of how I could apply some techniques I understood.