READ WIDELY!!! So I have heard this said very frequently, with the first and foremost person that comes to mind being the excellent Australian YA author, Jay Kristoff, who said it on his book tours I’ve attended, and also on a podcast interview I listened to..... and it’s sort of just stuck in my mind. But I'll admit that sometimes I find myself thinking.... why? Why should I read widely? I totally get when people say you need to read everything you can within your genre! Of course you do! You need to understand the rules so you know how to break them. But why read widely? Why go out of your way to consume books outside the genre you write in? Well, honestly, I don’t really know. So I googled it. I found this website, and I guess it kind of answers it all. Really it does make sense, to grow your understanding of writing, and improve your writing skills, you should be reading as much different types, styles and genres of writing as you can. Trying new things can only open your mind and make you think in a different way, and hopefully bring something new and fresh to your own work through influence or inspiration. So there you go! My 2019 Commitment - To READ WIDELY!! So therefore, my commitment for 2019, is to read more widely than I have been, and my aim is to read a non-YA book once every two months. Here are just a few of the books I want to try out, that are in genres I might not normally read:
So those are the main ones I want to try but there are heaps more too. I am going to read a verse novel as well as a poetry book too. I am also interested in more translated fiction, so we will see if I get onto that. My husband is currently reading a Chinese scifi novel that I have my eye on but we will see. Oh, and also Jane Rawson's 'From the Wreck' novel! It is set where I live and sounds utterly fascinating, so I'd definitely like to read it! So anyway, there you go. My 2019 commitment to read widely. Hopefully it will help improve my writing skills and get me seeing stories from a different angle! :) What about you? Do you have any 2019 commitments at all? (don't need to be reading related!) I'd love to know! :)
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