I know there are some authors who don't like to read while they're writing, especially the same genre of books they're working on. They fear they will accidentally snag the author's voice or steal ideas and such.
But I am always reading. Well, almost always. In those rare days when I'm between books, I feel so lost. It's an odd feeling. It surprises me how many people tell me they haven't read anything for months. How do they live? I haven't a clue.
I simply have so much to learn. And I can't learn it by only putting my fingers on my keyboard and typing away. I need to see how other writers have handled different problems or issues in their books. When I'm reading a book that I love, when it's like the sweetest and yummiest candy that I can't get enough of, I ask myself, "Why? Why do I love this so much?" or when I realize how much I care about a character, I again ask myself why. And how did the author do that?
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