Foolish Woman, say thee?
To fall within the words webbed by a nobleman?
Nay Sir, for foolish would I nought have been with mortal man;
But he was yet a god, golden-haired and beautiful
Well-spoken and melodious in the speech of love
To twist a maiden’s head to seek the drowning
in eyes of crystal sea, and sing and dance
in beds of scented heather
and rejoice in smiles far brighter than the sun
and comfort self in arms like boughs of hemlock
For that was he, and poor and wretched now am I.
(Svsin, MMVI)
Okay, so I’m no poet. But with Boethius by my side I may be talking funny for a while. Or maybe just in the writing.
Sandstorm asks an interesting question of writers: Do you read when you’re writing?
I do, but it has always been a source of worry as well as inspiration, enjoyment and knowledge, for I take on the voice of that which I am reading and worry that the voice will seep and stain the words I write as well. Plagiarism of voice, of thinking, if not of words exact.
Interesting question.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
I tend to read mainly nonfiction when I’m writing fiction. In fact it’s often research related to what I’m writing, or a good book on writing or creativity.
I’m creating a populated fictional world and want to keep that world and its characters alive in my mind, not fill my mind with someone else’s. I even sometimes find myself reading nonfiction from the mindset of a character in my story.
The downside of this is that I have little time to enjoy really good fiction, and too often when I do take a fiction break the fiction I happen to have on hand isn’t very engaging. I’ve finally decided to do what I’ve intended to for years. That is, keep a list of highly recommended books (and collect the books themselves if I can), so I’m not tempted to grab a book on my way down the aisle of the store because I’m desperate at that moment to read fiction–any fiction–only to realize later it was a horrid choice for my tastes.
I see what you’re saying; that to accurately create a character it’s best to concentrate on that “feel” of him, to live with him a while without distraction. I think that’s why I didn’t set aside what I’d been working on; because I had to know my character better and spend more time with him alone.
I do tend to get a couple of the books that I know I’ll want to read eventually whenever I order from Amazon. It usually gets me free shipping and adding them to the lineup keeps the dust off my hearth. I almost feel like I’m going to a bookstore or library when I can browse and select from my own row of books!