What I Learned About My Writing by Dissecting My Reading Choices
After
writing four Young Adult novels (three of them speculative fiction) I decided
to switch gears. I took a long, hard look at what I like to read – and how I go
about choosing what to read. It suddenly seemed incredibly obvious that what I
write should pass a simple first test: would I read this? When I asked that of
my first four books the answer was a little shocking: probably not. Don't get
me wrong, I read both YA and speculative fiction – plus a lot of other things.
But if I'd picked up my own books in a library or bookstore, based on the
description and concept it's pretty iffy whether I would have taken any of them
home.
I
learned something very important from this: I am very judgmental about what I
read. And in a world where people have busy lives and endless distractions,
most readers are probably fairly picky about what they commit to. So that's
when I started analyzing my own decision-making process: I work in a library
and can bring home anything I want, for free. But I don't. So what am I looking
for?
Not
only do I judge a book by its cover, I judge it first by its spine. In the library where I work, New
Fiction and New Non-fiction have their own displays, but the covers don't face
outward like they do in some libraries and bookstores. I realized I make silent
evaluations about the spine before I even pick up a book to find out more about
it. Especially in fiction, the spine reveals a lot of information – from how long
it is to how famous the author is (based on font size). I am apparently adverse
to both super thick books, and books that scream "Huge Commercial
Success!" That's just me.
 |
| The books on my reading table. |
After I
approve of the relative size of the book and the style of its spine, I pick it
up and look at the cover. Too girly, I put it back. Too masculine, I put it
back. An interesting image intrigues me, and maybe a title that makes me say
"What's that about?" Then I open the cover and read the jacket copy.
My attention span is mercilessly short. Maybe it's the setting I don't like.
Maybe it's the main character's occupation. My ability to say "no" is
brutal. I am more biased than I ever realized. So what am I attracted to?
Sometimes
it's one word – the setting or the concept. Sometimes it’s a few sentences that
make me go, "Hmm, I'd like to see what happens." Sometimes, to
further convince me that I've made a good selection, I read the blurbs. I
prefer blurbs from reviews (as a former filmmaker I know how hard it is to get
press coverage, so I appreciate that as a general accomplishment). Alternately,
I like blurbs from writers whose work I know, but even if I'm unfamiliar with
the blurbists, several dazzling comments can make me even more excited about
reading something.
The
next thing I usually do is open the book and read a bit of the first page. It's
not a deal breaker, I just want to know if there is an immediate connection.
Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. Again, it's not a deal breaker
because I know you often need a few paragraphs, a few pages, to feel like
you're involved. Admittedly, as I've gotten older, I've become less inclined to
give books a hundred or more pages to spark something in me… But that's a
different blog.
There
are exceptions to this scrutiny of course. If "everyone's talking about it!"
I might read a book regardless of if I find the description inherently
interesting. This was true for both "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
and "Dead Wake" by Erik Larson and I read both of them quickly and
with pleasure. I'll read things based on a New
York Times review if it's gotten glowing praise, or by a friend who gushes
while recommending something. And obviously I'll read almost anything by
favorite authors.
The
challenge here was to dissect my own process for choosing a book unknown to me,
with the intention of then writing a book that, based on the description and
concept, was without a doubt something I would eagerly tuck under my arm and
take home. With that in mind, I recently finished my first book for adult
readers. (The words "artificial lifeform" will be on the dust jacket!)
The enthusiasm and intention I had for this book from the beginning were very
different from how and what I'd written before. It makes perfect sense that I
should be the ideal reader for my own work. Especially given the precariousness
of making an actual career in publishing… but that, too, is another blog.
