The title of this post pretty much says it all already.
It's my firm belief that a good writer needs to be a good reader. Being a good reader isn't the ability to read fast or copiously, but rather understand the material, sort of what your teacher used to try and teach you in school with all those ridiculous interpretative essays. Being a good reader is knowing what a story is about, and how the writer tells it. It's probably about reading more than one kind of story, even if you have a favorite.
Basically, if you can't do any of that, you probably will never be much of a writer. Being a good writer while being a good reader isn't aping your favorite material. If that's your goal, then you will never be a good writer. Being a good writer is about being inspired, and being a good reader will help you be inspired all over the place. Being a good reader makes you observant, and not just when reading, but out in the world that is not specifically composed of words.
So that's what I have to say about that.
Recently I told you I would be working on a bunch of stuff, and some of that stuff I actually did finish, and when I said I hoped I would. I finished the first draft of "Unsafe at Any Speed," and sent that off. And then I wrote "Outliers - A Deep Space Nine Celebration."
I'm pretty proud of both, but can only show you one of them. Here's links to "Outliers":
Part 1 (featuring Ben Sisko, Jadzia Dax)
Part 2 (Nog, Rom, Quark)
Part 3 (Miles, Keiko, Bashir, Odo, Kira, Worf)
Part 4 (Dukat, Kai Winn, Garak, Eddington, Kasidy Yates, Weyoun, Tora Ziyal, Female Changeling Damar - it should be noted that even though there are a lot of characters in this one, you should at least pay attention to Dukat and especially, as always, Garak)
Part 5 (Martok, Vic Fontaine)
Part 6 (Zek, Ishka, Ezri Dax, Molly)
Part 7 (Jennifer Sisko, Jake Sisko, Morn)
Enjoy! Or not!
Do they have Star Trek as part of the Kindle Worlds thing yet? If they do that then you could publish your fanfics on Amazon. Though I'm still trying to understand who would write Kurt Vonnegut fan fiction.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't seem like it does. I imagine that people could at least have fun with Slaughterhouse-Five.
DeleteDeep Space nine was awesome - the best of the series!
ReplyDeleteBeing observant while in the world is important. I think experiencing variety helps as well. Not so much for the write what you know, but for knowledge of the world and how people function. I've lived in so many places and so many foreign countries and I'm glad for the experience. It broadens one's views.
Which is also what DS9 was all about, and the advice Sisko gave his son.
Deletereading is fundamental Tony. Your fanfic is fun man. I can feel your love for the series.
ReplyDeleteMaurice, since DS9 is, was, and always will be my favorite, it wasn't hard to translate all my favorite things about the series into this one.
ReplyDelete