October 28, 2019
We’ve talked about writer’s block. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
My first thought when I saw this question was that surely it was a typo. So was my second. Then I thought more and asked, is it really a thing? Reader’s Block?
I don’t try to hide the fact that I read. A lot. When I was a kid, I read everything that I could get my hands on, including the back of cereal boxes. I don’t read as much now, but I still love me a good story.
But there have been times when, for one reason or another, I didn’t read for a long stretch of time. (I define that as a month or two in terms of reading!) Perhaps I was too busy with work. Or family things. Or so wrapped up in my own writing that I didn’t want to spare the time to read someone else’s. Or I didn’t have time to get to the library and didn’t feel like re-reading any of my old favorites. (This was before ebooks, folks!)
And, I am sad to admit, there has been a time or two when I sour on
Image by Gerhard Gellinger from Pixabay
whatever book I’m reading and I simply stop. Then, because I have this need to finish every book I start, I just don’t. Start reading a different book, that is. I feel guilty about the one I didn’t finish. Until I can forgive myself and push past the shame of abandoning a story, I can’t move on.
There’s also the issue of editing mode. When I’m in the middle of editing my own work, it’s hard to turn that inner editor off. It makes it difficult to simply enjoy a story and not pick it over looking for faults.
How do I overcome it? Time. The answer is always time (unless it’s 42.) Since reading is an addiction, I always come back to it.
So, yes, I have experienced reader’s block, at least the way I choose to define it. How about you? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.
As usual, now I’m off to check out the other writers on this blog hop and find out if they’ve experienced reader’s block. And if you are looking for a good book to break yours, I’d appreciate it if you would check out my stories. You can read all about them elsewhere on this website.
October 28, 2019
We’ve talked about writer’s block. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/
like market share and reader experience. I also understand that my stories don’t dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s of what “generic” reader expectations might be. My heroines are strong without needed men to save them. My mysteries don’t require murders. And, heaven forbid, my cozy mysteries have the occasional swear word.
sensual feeling of a pen slipping across a piece of paper, leaving behind the words flowing from my brain. Even a pencil will do if that’s all I can find. (I rarely have a problem finding a pen these days. The picture is a small segment of my desk.)
is Jake, Harmony’s ex-lover. He’s based on no one but himself. I’m still not sure if he’s a bad guy pretending to be good or a good guy pretending to be bad, he won’t reveal his secrets. But, I have found pictures that I think represent him perfectly. So, just for fun, here’s Jake!
“Eli,” I called, “can you see Jake?” The strobe light shone in my direction every few seconds, blinding me on each pass.
you want to sit for a while, there’s a bench near the top of the waterfall.”
in my recent reads. Aha, there it is! Hook, Dead to Rights, by Melissa Snark. It’s a different take on the classic Peter Pan. Much different. The story had enough twists to keep me guessing who was the hero and who was the villain until near the end. The second book, Hook, Dead Wrong, is on my TBR list.
Take my book Wolves’ Knight as an example. I’d planned out a romance subplot for Tasha, my main character, and even started writing the scene where she and the planned romantic lead got hot and heavy with each other. And promptly got stuck, because she started fighting me. She had a different idea about how things should go. I had to set my ego aside and swap up the plot to satisfy her.
