The Undiscovered Country

I Can't Read

Anyea and I had a mini email conversation based on her entry "Invalid Entry"  where she talked about how many books these days lack good characterization.

She responded to my comment thusly: Well having been or in a dry spell I almost can't remember! It's so far away from me but I do know what I like when I read something and what bores me silly. It's easy to tell when a writer has actually worked on a character and when they throw up sentences that they are mimic'ing from some other writing. It's weird how a writer can spot stuff the non-writer doesn't see at all. Sometimes I think we are cursed. It can mess up a good read.

I have the same problem these days. I can’t seem to disappear into a book – any book lately. Granted I don’t have much time with the little one, editing, etc, but I still miss how I used to devour sometimes 3 books in a week.

Being in editor mode doesn’t help either. Like Anyea said, as a writer I tend to critique what I read instead of enjoying it.

A curse indeed.

I then asked myself, why don’t I do the same thing when I read blogs? I enjoy those just fine.

I think it’s a combination of two things.

1. Low expectations (keep reading. It's not what you think). I don’t expect journals to be written and edited to perfection. Most of it is off-the-cuff stuff, full of raw incidences and emotion. That's part of their allure.

2. It’s a conversation. Blogs are more about engaging in conversation not how well it's written. Just like a speech writer doesn’t correct the language of a friend when they’re speaking blogs aren't meant to be edited or critiqued (unless asked for).

When I read a book or article, I assume the writer is a professional; one who cares deeply about his or her craft enough to write well, both in structure and characterization. When that expectation isn’t met, I’m left frustrated. Reading is no longer a joy, but a self-imposed critique session.

At times like this I wish I hadn’t decided writing was something I wanted to do professionally, but for the mere fun of it or not at all.

Now for Thomas’ opinion on this subject:

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That’s babytalk for, “Listen to my mommy. She knows what she’s talking about!”