How Much Should You Read As A Writer?

Hello all my writing buddies!

I hope you are enjoying the spring weather as summer starts to head our way. I know I am! I don't really have any funny anicdotes like other bloggers, so I'll just jump right into the post. Afterall, that's really why you are here anyway. So!

How much should you read as a writer? 

I've been asking myself this question over and over again. I'm sure I still don't have a solid answer. In my research and reading of writing self-help books I have come across that you should, as a writer, be a voracious reader. Oops. If your cheeks are red, we're in the same boat. If you are nodding proudly as you glance at your towering stack of novels in the corner of your room, I envy you. You, like me, have probably read in dozens of places that you should read, read, read and read some more if you want your writing to improve. But the question is: when do you read if you are always writing??

When writing became my calling, I used to read books by the armful. This was in Junior high mind you. Then high school came and I was overwhelmed with Debate, Newspaper, Collage courses, AP courses, Sr. Class Officer work and a host of other extra-curricular activities. Time for reading swirled down the toilet. But my passion for writing did not! Now away from school (apart from online school) I have the chance to really bring my writing around and in focus. Yet I now realize...I haven't read "voraciously" in a long....long...*blush*...long time. Partly because I can hardly ever find a book I really like. If it doesn't grab me and hold on, it isn't worth my time. So now that I have the time, what is my deal? Why aren't I reading like crazy again?

Don't Read The Same Genre As You're Writing

I'll tell you what my deal (and possibly your deal too) is: I am writing! That's right, as simple as it is. I am writing. I once read in Robert's Rules of Writing: 101 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know that if you read while you are working on your book, you will take on that authors style and it will effect your work. I thought, will this is the first I'm hearing about this, but guess what? It has stuck! And then I noticed...I was reading  The Relic (Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child) and I noticed the urge to write. Then a few weeks later, the book long finished, I re-read what I had written. Guess what? Sounded just like Preston and Child's style. Ugh!


I will say this: I notice a HUGE difference in my passion, inspiration and style of writing (my own, just improved) when I read. I know my passion for writing was at it's best when I was devouring books like a starving book cart. So, my method, I'm reading in between books as well as during. I feel if I read the book quickly, I won't get fixated on that particular author's style. I also plan to read genres not like my book, so I don't have a tendency to steal ideas or events subconsciously. If you are writing a fantasy, read a romance novel. If you are writing a mystery currenly, pick up a Sci-Fi book. Your writing will still improve but the books are so different, you won't have to worry much about the similarities creeping up. Besides, an edit or 20 will always even out your style if you have a chunk of book that sounds dark (becuase you were reading The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo at the time). Anyway, I hoped I shed some light on that. No I didn't have an easy answer. But I wanted you to know you aren't alone if you feel this way. Just try, try, try to get that reading in. Speaking of, I'm off to read my current book- The DaVinci Code! *Please don't hurl rocks because I'm just now reading this for the first time.*

 So...what are we to do? Read while we work? Read in between work? (Which, let's be real, once you finish book one, you know you're supposed to be working on book two.) What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Do you disagree? What is your system? 


From one writer to another,

Shelby

Media Bistro Copy Editing Certificate Course- Another Update

Hey there all you writers! My goodness, I'm excited about this weather! In my blissful spring state, I was propelled to drive home from work with the windows all rolled down, something I feel the need to do when the weather is over 60. So I'm driving along and a bee gets sucked into my car and hits my face. Yeah. Little freak out. Don't worry, no one was hurt. Except the bee maybe, in my panicky state it's no wonder. Anyway, that was my highlight.

Okay, so I'm now on class number three in my Copy Editing Certificate program from Media Bistro. Feel free to see the previous two posts to follow from how I chose this program , my first impressions and my first update.

So I just finished the Grammar and Punctuation course. It was fine, but I wished I could have learned more. I don't really feel like I'm getting my monies worth. The class lasted four weeks. Each week is one lesson. Which basically is a 3-5 page PDF "lesson" and then a 1-2 page assignment. Doesn't feel like much of a lesson or much of a practice/assignment. I feel like they could be giving us a lot more instruction or testing our skills a lot more than they are every week. Guess one of my electives is going to have to be Advanced Grammar. Ugh. That probably wasn't proper grammar. See how much work I need?

Today was day one of Copy Editing Intermediate. My first lesson was pretty lame. It was supposed to be on hyphens, en-dash and em-dash. We were gold a basic explanation of when to use each, which wasn't something I was wondering about. I know that hyphens are for compound words, en-dash is for ranges and em-dash is interrupting a sentence. I was hoping to learn how to type those, which I didn't. I was also hoping to learn when to use em-dash vs parenthesis vs comma. You know:
My cat, who is extremely fat, sleeps all day.
OR
My cat (who is extremely fat) sleeps all day.
OR
My cat--who is extremely fat--sleeps all day
* Those double hyphens are supposed to be em-dashes. See, how would I write them in a paper? Who knows? So yet again, when I come to this question in my own editing and writing, I'll have to look it up online at some random website. I can't tell you how may things I've had to look up online that I felt I should have learned so far from this schooling.

The assignment after, which I thought was going to be a series of sentences where you choose which to use, was a news article from a magazine or news paper that we had to edit. It had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson. Ooookaaay....

So my impression so far isn't very good. I thought I was going to be so happy: I saved money and will learn from the media experts! But I don't feel like I'm learning all that I should. I can't even say I'm going to a real school. But listen to me complain! For $1,500 I don't know what I expected. More I guess. But I don't work for Media Bistro nore am I getting paid to endorse anyone. I'm just trying to provide an in-depth review of this program from an actual student. So if you do enroll, you may feel similar feelings. The only testimonials I read were raving about the great teachers. What teachers? How can you really praise a teacher for an online course? One chat night a week and they're amazing? I must be missing something.

Either way, I'm still pursuing more education and experience to lift my editing business off the ground. I have just been accepted into another internship (since apparently my first one is on an "as-needed" basis). It's at a real publishing house, editing books and poetry! So my schooling, experience and passion must have meant something!

Anyway, keep reading if you are still debating whether Media Bistro's Copy Editing Certificate Program is for you. I'll post again soon!

From One Writer...

Love,
Shelby

Writing Self-Help Books: My Worst Enemy

Writing self-help books. Are you as addicted to them as I am? I swear, I've read too many for how many completed novels I have. Which is what again? Oh yeah. A big fat 1. One. O. N. E. A lot of good all that reading has done! So my epiphany: Writing Self-Help books are my wost enemy!

 I try to tell myself that I only read a billion writing help books because I'm dedicated to my novels and want them to be the best they can be. Which is true. Partly. If you've spent even five minute on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, browsing books about writing, you know the selection is MASSIVE! And I mean massive! Like female-hygiene-isle-in-Walmart massive! But I was so determined to improve my writing dramatically that I got a sample of just about every book in a several hour period. I quickly started plowing through them and deleting ones I didn't like, so excited about how much my writing was going to improve. I bought a few, then rented some more from the library, then sampled a few more, then add twelve to my wish list. I have a huge notebook which I keep as my "writing improvement" book for all my notes. Which is a GREAT idea if you don't have one already! No more flipping through dozens of books for the highlighted sections! So here I am, dedicating several hours a week to reading and taking notes, when I had an epiphany.


Yesterday, I wrote over 2k words in my novel. It is on it's third draft (I know, 3rd!) and I'm still changing huge chunks of it. When I finished, (mostly because I got antsy and my wrists hurt) I looked at how much I had written. It was double what my daily goal was. Double! I realized just how much time I was wasting on reading all those books, never getting a chance to put their tips to use. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't really a "waste" since I got some great notes. But when I'm trying to be a novelist, not an expert on writing novels, it seems to get in the way and by the end of a couple hours, I feel like I accomplished nothing. But oh boy, when I finish writing a couple thousand words and actually working on my novel, I feel so accomplished I could yell it from the rooftops! And I have!

 I decided that I will improve my craft once a week. That is all. The rest of the time, I will be working on the actual craft. I will get the novel on paper. There is time to perfect when I'm in the revising stage and cleaning up the copy. I realized I will never learn all there is to know. I will never read every book on writing there is. Even if I did, that doesn't mean it will automatically make me an amazing writer and I'll be able to zip through my next novel like J.K. Rowling. I must write. For that is the goal. So I'm sharing this nugget of wisdom with all you fellow writers that feel you can never learn enough about the craft and find yourselves reading writing book after writing book, but your novel stays the same length. We are procrastinating. We are afraid. I know I am.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a novel that is calling! And so do you! Or at least you should! Stop putting off the writing, sharpening that character, improving that plot line and just do it. Finish the book you're reading and then write! Learn a few tips every month so that you are always improving but don't forget what is most important: your novel. We learn by experience. Your second book will be better than your first. And your forth book will be better than your third! That isn't due to a ton of writing books. That is due to you actually writing and finding out what works, what your readers like, what you like, etc. Wow, I sound a bit like Tony Robbins. You'd think I'd have actually published a book with the way I talk and lecture. Nope. Not yet. Just a writer trying to share her epiphanies with other writers. Here's to your novel! And keep an eye out for some tips coming soon from books I've read so you don't have to!


From One Writer...

Love,
Shelby

Is Proofreading School Required?

So, as promised, I'm coming to report on the work I've done since I enrolled in school. Yes my confidence is up a bit. No, not as high as I had hoped, BUT...

I have taken on several projects as a result of that little confidence and have actually begun proofreading and editing. Thus far, my projects have included:

• Proofreading business literature for my place of work
• Proofreading and editing a collage paper for a family member
• Proofreading and editing of a query letter and the first ten pages of a novel
• Landed an internship at a publishing house working on ebooks and proofread my first book

So not a ton of work, but not 0 work either. It is still a resume booster though not yet an income booster. That's okay! I'm farther now than I was four months ago! I want to encourage all of you that you can do it if you want to. Stop dreaming and just do it!

I also highly recommend, for a confidence boost and a quick look into the life of a proofreader, the No-Nonsense Proofreading Course. You can get tons of books, study materials, free tests etc from his site for about $30. It's pretty awesome! I didn't feel the least bit scammed as I had even lost my ebooks, emailed Mike Sellars (the man behind the course), and he so generously provided the link to me again without demanding proof of purchase. Clearly this is a guy that cares about educating people and not the money. *At least I think so * It was what really kicked off my proofreading business and desire. So take a leap, it's not much money, and use it to get an idea of what proofreading is all about. No, I am no affiliated with Mike, just a happy customer who thinks he deserves more business. You shouldn't pay for a proofreading course. Copy editing yes, but proofreading, probably not.

Anyway, I'm off to work on the novel.

From one writer,


Love,
Shelby

Proofreading Services

Attention writers! I would like to announce my new business, Word by Word, a freelance proofreading and writing service I have just launched. Tell your friends! Just kidding, but really, I won't be mad if you tell them.

I have been writing for quite a while as a freelancer and figured it was time to start my own website. I encourage you to stop on by and check it out. 

http://wordbyword.snappages.com

I offer SEO article writing, blog article writing and web content. In addition, I offer proofreading and light editing services. As you all know, I'm in school for Copy Editing. I already have most of the knowledge they are teaching us, but with a certificate on the way, it is time to get my experience up there.

In my attempt to gain a solid work experience proofreading, I've worked for Distributed Proofreaders as well as proofread for my current place of work. In just getting my services out there, within a week I was proofreading an amateur author's query letter and first ten pages of their novel! That's some great experience!

So if you are working on your own project right now or know anyone that needs a second set of eyes, direct them to my website! No, I'm not trying to get business with my blog. I just wanted to tell my few readers about my newest accomplishment. Thank you for reading!

From One Writer--

Love,
Shelby

Write What You Know

You've heard the saying, "Write what you know." I know I have. But what if you don't know anything? Now you're thinking, "Well that's impossible! Everyone knows something!" I thought so too until I tried to write what I knew. I don't know computers so scratch technology off my list. I don't know plants or cars or cooking either, so scratch, scratch, scratch. So what do I know that I can put in my books that will ring true? What do I know?

Don't let this question plague you when  you start to feel down about your writing. Often times, and sadly, more times than not, you won't feel confident about your writing. As sad as it is, I know I've never tried harder or dedicated  more time to my writing and I couldn't feel less confident. But I do feel passionate, and that is enough for now.

Do you know love? Do you know fear? Do you know disappointment? You're nodding your head right now because you know all of that. But do you know friendships? Do you know commitment? Do you know how it feels to lose someone? What about passion or success? What about failure? Yes! You know all of these things, or at least 90% of them. So write about them! Remember the time you lost someone dear or the time someone told you they loved you or when you were the most scared you'd ever been? Now take those emotions and that passion and use it to make your characters come to life. Make your scenery that much scarier or more depressing. Use your emotions if you don't know anything else. You might find it's more powerful and your readers can relate to it more than the other stuff.

This is what I'm working on now. Making my characters' emotions feel real and justified. Your challenge is to do the same. Fuel your novel with raw emotion. Nothing else will bring your readers closer to you and your characters than an emotion they understand.

Till next time!

From one writer--

Love,
Shelby

Media Bistro Copy Editing Certificate Program So Far

Hey friends! I just finished the first class, Intro to Copy Editing. Yay! On my way! I hope...
I figured if anyone is following along and is looking for honest feedback they can trust, then I owe you that much!

So with one class down and five to go, here is my impression thus far:

Media Bistro Copy Editing Certification
Intro to Copy Editing

Pros
1. Nice easy online interface
2. No strict "must show up" "must participate" "deadline or no grade"- you get what you put into it
3. Class chats are saved in case you miss the chat...which I did. Every single one.
4.  No real hard grade so it's okay if you take the class to learn and aren't a genius already.
5. Personal grades on homework turned in on time. Nice personal touch.


Cons
1. Instructors...not so easy to get a response from
2. Chat times are pretty late. Which if you have a late schedule works great but 8pm...I want to be done with school by then and back to working on my novels!
3. Lessons consisted of a few PDF pages and then reading from the AP Style book online which...
4. ...you have to pay for. The AP style book that is. Bleh.

So about neck and neck with pros and cons. Overall, the schooling seems laid back and I feel like I'll get what I put into it but not be stressing if I forget a due date or class chat. Which by the way...when it comes to online schooling that is one thing I detest. Online group chats. Seriously what do they think we're going to get out of typing a half-a** "response" in?

Anyway, rant over....I feel this particular first class was more aimed for those of you looking to edit for a newspaper. Did you know that AP style deems the plural form of cactus as cactuses. Not cacti! I know! We were told wrong...at least if you are writing in AP Style. Me...I'm looking to edit fiction and possibly academic work and online content. So I mostly feel it was kind of pointless. After all, if someone puts cacti in their online article, why would I change that? So like I said, more for newspaper editors.

I hope that because that particular class was introducing AP style book that that explains the way of "teaching"...which is more teaching yourself. Hopefully the next class, Grammar, will be better and I'll feel like I'm getting my monies worth.

I'll keep ya informed!

From One Writer...
Love,
Shelby