They say you are what you eat, well you write what you read. Now, just like we all know a person who can eat the world and stay skinny There are authors who don't read in their genre. Personally I believe all writers should read cross genre to broaden our writing craft, but many authors tend to write the things they enjoy reading. Who or what influences your writing?
I agree it's good to branch out from your genre. It does broaden your reading interests and help your writing. I do write in the genre I like best-fantasy. And I think it's okay to write what you love.
ReplyDeleteI suspect there are a lot of bestselling adult authors who venture into writing YA novels without reading them. Or if they read them, they've only read a few and decided to jump on the trend. Those are the books my son reads the first few pages of and decides no thanks.
ReplyDeleteI believe in reading outside your genre. I just don't do it as much as I should.
Perhaps the fact that I read all within sorts of genres and also non-fiction occasionally explains why I wrote across lots of genres ;)
ReplyDeleteI am a romantic at heart, so of course, I love a good story about love!! I suppose that's why I write it!
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh. I guess funny, clever, intelligent writers influence my writing. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the classics, Y/A novels, and Charlie Dickens. I mean Sir Charles. Whatever, the guy was a genius, and I'm glad they forced me to read him at school.
ReplyDeleteI really love Marilyn French, Eric Lustbader, John Katzenbach, and Margaret Laurence. There are a ton more, but I better get back to work.
Hi Sara!
I love reading other genres. I think it's a good thing, because then you're getting even more "free advice" on style, characters, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'll read YA one day, historical the next, and thriller the day after that. It depends on my mood :)
I love to read a lot of different kinds of books, sometimes for the sheer pleasure of it, but sometimes to soak in the way a particular author can make words sing or for their straightforward engaging prose. I write mostly nonfiction but sometimes fiction is where you find the most poetic words and stories.
ReplyDeleteI should really read outside my genre. Maybe a romance novel? Hmmmm
ReplyDeleteI have story ideas for a variety of genres. Because of that, I read a variety of genres, and I don't think too much about which is "my genre" because I don't have that nailed down yet. Right now I'm working on a story that's contemporary realism, but I have story ideas in fantasy, paranormal, mystery, etc...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do read in my genre, I also read widely and love the high brow literary stuff. But when I started writing, a dude in a spacesuit was waving and screaming, "Over here!"
ReplyDeleteI actually get a lot of inspiration from TV, Scientific American, and Sky & Telescope.
I read pretty much anything, except maybe romance and anything involving vampires or zombies.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what my genre writing genre is though - I like to mix things up a bit.
You've got me thinking now... :-)
I read pretty much anything, with the exception of horror. Maybe I should give it a shot though... who knows what I'll learn?
ReplyDeleteHow could one write in a genre he doesn't read? I think it would be next to impossible.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot in my genre, but often read out of it, too. To not read your genre is unwise.
ReplyDeleteI read cross genre because I enjoy all types of books. If a book sounds interesting, I will for sure read it. However, I read most books in my genre.
ReplyDeleteJust about everything influences my writing, which is why I'm always very careful what I read when I'm writing something. Lets just say it wouldn't be a good idea to read a Jane Austen when I'm trying to writ Sci-fi.
ReplyDeleteso true!
ReplyDeleteI love to ready fairly widely - though sci-fi has never really grabbed me. xx