Writing Novels while Reading Novels
Tess sent me this interesting questions about a possible pitfall when writing novels...
"I read somewhere that it is not a good idea to read novels whilst writing novels. Is there any truth to this?"
- Tess Kent, UK
Yes, there is some truth to it. Writing a novel at the same time as reading a novel can be a dangerous mix. But, as I will explain, there isn't actually a whole lot us writers can do about it!
Every time we read a piece of fiction, we can't help but pick up on that writer's style - their use of language, their pet words and phrases, their preference for minimalist prose or elaborate prose, and so on. This usually happens subconsciously, but it happens nonetheless.
Having absorbed elements of this novel writer's style, the argument goes that we can't help but reproduce that writing style, at least a little, when we sit down to write a novel of our own.
Hence the advice to keep reading and writing separate - writing fiction for six months, say, then reading fiction for the rest of the year.
The problem, of course, is that most writers are avid readers - telling them to lay off their favorite drug for a few months simply isn't going to happen (it would be like asking a telly addict not to switch on the TV for six months).
Similarly, writers like to write, and preferably every day if they want to keep their creative muscles in good shape.
My advice, then, is to ignore the advice about not reading at the same time as writing!
I am not totally convinced that we subconsciously imitate other writers, anyway - not to any great extent. Our writing voices are largely the product of every novel we have ever read in our lives - the influence that the novel we happen to be currently reading can have upon this voice seems to me to be minimal.
But to lessen this slight possibility of subconscious imitation, you can do what I do - have several books on the go at once. It might be possible to imitate one novelist's voice when writing a novel of your own, but not when you have ten voices speaking to you all at once.
Hope that helps.
Harvey
