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Joined: 3/31/2011
Posts: 2
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Lack of time in my life being what it is, I still read as much as I write. My main writing times are before work and at lunch and I try to split the two chunks of time equally. Almost like rewarding myself with some reading because I did some writing. 
And I totally agree with Mr.King's premise. As authors, there are a lot of things we can soak up by osmosis, or lessons we're dealing with in trying to make our craft better than can be pounded in harder as we run across them during our reading time. Plus it's a good business practice on top of that. Let's you know what's being written and by whom. And if your reading is non-fiction, you're just adding extra fodder for your subconscious aka muse to make more creative fodder for your writing! heh heh
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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 19
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Lately I've been reading more than writing, but I'm trying to change that, slowly. When I'm reviewing books versus reading for pleasure, I've found it far too hard to write without picking up the voice of the book that I'm reviewing. I know that it's because I'm more attentive to the structure when I'm putting a review together, but it makes it harder to write in my own voice. I tend to take a break from my writing whenever I have a book to review.
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Joined: 4/2/2011
Posts: 1
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I write much more than I read at the moment. Bookwise, at least. I read plenty of news and social bits online, but my book reading nosedives when my writing is going well. I love to read, and I will burn through a book in a day when I finally sit down. When I'm writing though, my focus needs to be on my story, not someone else's.
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Joined: 4/3/2011
Posts: 66
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I do not read ANYTHING while I am writing a novel. I have drain bamage from a string of strokes so I am always afraid of inadvertantly stealing something from someone. I refuse to do that, so I have to avoid reading. I won't watch movies (I do not watch TV) either while writing a novel. I play catch up when I finished something and then take a week or two doing nothing. It's how I have to work and though boring my massive music collection fills in the holes.
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Joined: 3/30/2011
Posts: 4
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I read almost exclusively before bed as it's usually the best time for me to read undisturbed. But then I read fiction and mostly to escape and relieve stress of the day.
During the day I read stuff from all over the wbe, a lot of non-fiction and science stuff. Also of course the range of blogs from Boing Boing to tons of lil' sites.
In all I write about 2-3 hours a day but probably read 2, tops.
If only I could have time to do more of both!!!
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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 4
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I'm always reading. I read for enjoyment and also as a reviewer for YA Books Central. I've made a goal to read outside of YA so I can be more rounded.
My favorite time to read is whenever I can find a few minutes for myself. I average reading at least 2 books a week. I get up early in the morning to write and also find a few hours when son is outside playing with friends or in school.
I do know son has picked up my love of reading. He also can be found asleep in his room with a book by his side. Just like his mother!
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Joined: 4/4/2011
Posts: 1
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That reminds me of an interview John Mayer once gave about how he plays so much better after seeing an Eric Clapton performance or any other of his idols. I believe it was either Clapton's Crossroads Festival DVD or an Austin City Limits.
Anyway, I don't read as often as I should, but I do tend to read as I'm writing. It doesn't influence you in the ways you might think. I don't end up plagiarizing whole sections or dialogues (at least, I don't believe so), but it does sharpen your focus and your skills. I write better, I think, because before me is an example of what's good. Structure, pacing, plotting, syntax. It's all there for me to absorb in some unconscious way.
There are negatives, I've found. Sometimes reading a really good book while I'm writing will really bring out the self-editor in me. Also, if it's a really good book, I'll end up reading more than writing! 
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Joined: 4/4/2011
Posts: 3
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I have the unfortunate problem of reading entirely too much. I should be writing a lot more but I'm always looking for ways to procrastinate. I've been trying to do more challenges now so I'm forced to write more.
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Joined: 3/30/2011
Posts: 4
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I think my reading and writing average out; I have bouts of both, neither very balanced. I read a lot of slush, as well; plus the odd journal. And novels for review, or whatever someone hands me. Writing...I try to work on something on a weekly basis, have an ongoing monthly serial, and poetry has been happening to me lately. Occasionally I'll do a streak of flash fiction (over at Showmeyourlits, these days).
I'm a huge fan of writing challenges (like anthos that pop up on twitter, or crossed genres' themes, or (or showmeyourlits, or imaginaries, or....) .... 
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Joined: 4/6/2011
Posts: 29
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"Even if that is only 30 minutes a day."
I'm glad to hear it, because often that's all I can manage. 30 min/day is enough time to make some progress, if one is focused about it, but the discipline is tough to maintain (otherwise we would call it something else, I suppose) when the rest of life keeps piling up around you.
Not an audiobook fan - I just don't absorb material that way very well - so I went too many years without reading very much at all due to my long car commute. Now that I'm back on public transportation, I've been trying to get back into the habit. 9 books this year is not very much, but it's better than I had been doing.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 1
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I read probably much more than I write. I need to even this out a little. But, to quote Stephen King again, since it was a quote from him that got this discussion started, "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."
I've go the reading part down. I need to be more consistent on the writing. I'm very consistent on the weekends, when I have the most time, but I need to MAKE the time during the week to write, more than I currently do.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 3
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I spend a lot of time reading. I can also read 4 to 5 books in a week. Some days I get two books in . So I usually spend more time reading than writing, but I also have two or three books in the works. I am a big historical romance fan, but I also read horror (Stephen King). My books have some basis in both genres, but I find that the ideas I get are not in one specific genre. I don't know how common that is, but that's how it is .
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Joined: 5/3/2011
Posts: 13
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I go in spurts of both. I can easily finish reading a book inside a day or two. So I write as often as I can until I find a book to read and then it becomes my life for a little while.
Reading is integral to my process. I often compare my writing style to other authors. I admire the things that they are doing right and I am then able to apply it to my own words. I am not talking about plot lines or anything like that. I look at how they say the word said. I look at how a character smiles. I look at how they alternate points of view.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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I usually read for 2-3 hours a day. Since I work full-time, this isn’t always an easy or practical thing to do. There are days when the quotidian tasks of everyday existence eat up the 24-hour cycle, leaving me a much shorter window of dedicated reading time, and others where my energy/enthusiasm level is low. There are also the masses of ever-increasing floaters which obscure and obstruct my vision as I age, making reading a more difficult task than it used to be.
Nevertheless, I try to log at least a solid hour of reading time a day. I have arranged a number of book tables, of divers heights and sizes, beside my leather recliner in the living room (the one indulgence in this otherwise Spartan apartment; no TV) and I read from the stacks of books I’ve removed from my library for immediate consumption: an eclectic mixture reflecting my own interests, consisting of just about everything under the sun: poetry, essays, science, religion, philosophy, psychology, history (ancient, medieval and modern), fiction (both escapist and interpretive, which correlates to commercial and literary, for the most part), literary criticism, memoir, biography, military history, etc. My favorite genres are weird fiction, fantasy, horror and science-fiction.
I am a “marker-upper” of books: I highlight, underline (in black and red ink), notate and comment in the margins of my cross-referenced texts.
As to my own output of creative writing, I’m lucky if I get 500 new words a day down on paper (or hard drive). This corresponds to about an hour's-worth of writing.
I am more a re-writer than a writer, endlessly re-working and re-writing my material. Facing the blank page (or computer screen; I write by both longhand and word processor) is excruciatingly difficult and painful for me—no doubt due to both my diagnosed ADD and Cyclothymia (a mood disorder triggering both hypomanic and depressive episodes: the “baby brother” of full-blown bi-polar).
I have never experienced “writing in flow” and can only marvel at and envy those writers (such as my good friend E. E. Knight) who are able to produce in this fashion.
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Joined: 6/6/2011
Posts: 15
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Wow. All of a sudden I realize just how strange my reading and writing habits are. I read a great deal more than I write, though I do write regularly. I started out as a book reviewer before I was published and still keep up with both, though I don't review anything I didn't enjoy because I feel that as a fellow author it is rude and a waste of time that would be better spent reading another book I will hopefully enjoy more.
I also have a weird habit. I will read a book the first time for pure enjoyment and if I feel that book is extraordinary I will read it again or sometimes even multiple times and dissect what I really enjoyed about it so that I can try to learn from them. There are so many things to learn from other books! (Though I mainly read YA since it is my genre and has been my favorite since I was 10.)
Overall, I have a total reading addiction that out weights my writing but doesn't overcome it. My writing is a part of who I am and I can only go so long without writing or I will probably lose my sanity. Great question by the way!!!
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Joined: 6/15/2011
Posts: 3
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When I was in grade four I had failed my English exams ,My mother had purchase some books for me like the Flight of the Phoenix,Cinderalla, The Little Matchstick girl & Sleeping beauty.
Although English is not my native language ,I had fell in love with the stories and the Illustration of the books,spending time with books is a luxury for me now,As to plan my events I always take my inspiration and help from them!
I would love to write some day but it is to soon for me now.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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If I count all the reading and editing I do for my job, then I definitely read way more than I write. I bought a Kindle more than a year ago and find myself sneaking in a few pages of whatever book I'm reading at all times of the day or evening. I do spend a fair amount of time each day "working" on my books - either actively editing, writing, planning, and so on. I have to admit, however, that when I was actively querying agents, any new writing or editing of older writing was placed on the back burner. I found the entire querying process, well, mentally exhausting. And now, since I joined Book Country, I'm finding that I've been spending a lot of time reading the wonderful works posted here as well as the many interesting discussions!
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Joined: 8/10/2011
Posts: 1
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I spend more time writing my novels than reading. I feel that if you read too much of other works,beside your own, then you may subconsciously develop someones else's style, signature, and technique. Having a unique quality is what brings about new and interesting works.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I read far more. It's a hell of a lot easier to read than to write. Slide into bed, book in hand, feel virtuous. You're not procrastinating. You're doing your research. Scrawl notes. Type them into your files on Court Life or Sea Life or Low Life. Great! You're finally getting a handle on that murky assassination plot, or making headway with the layout of the Dutch Flute, your merchant ship, an elusive beastie. There's very little to be found on the boogers, either in books or online.
First and foremost, I'm a reader. I grew up in an isolated retirement community, Crystal Beach, Florida, in the late fifties, an idyllic setting, I wish I'd understood it at the time. I had few friends. My twin brother and I were not close. My sister was six years younger, on another planet. Books were my friends. They still are.
I grab history and biography most often, but I also devour fiction. Nonfiction supplies me with facts to plug into my sixteenth century epic adventure, a quarter of a million words and nowhere near done. I read fiction to pick apart the style. My preference is for work copyright 1930 or earlier. More recent novels, by and large, haven't the same lyricism, nor the abundance of picturesque detail. Well, many do, of course, but as a rule of thumb, this strategy has served me well.
A terrific story is not my primary concern. Frankly, several of my favorite pieces are sentimental slop. But a striking heirloom voice and a charmingly ponderous phraseology have a cadence, a musicality that you don't get today. There's no better way to learn how to craft a graceful sentence than to immerse yourself in early twentieth century literature.
The honored dead, the giants, have much to impart in terms of pleasure and instruction both, but long forgotten second rate talents have lessons to teach as well. I'm no fan of dialog-driven fiction. Give me that old-time religion (heavy-duty description) to set a scene and assist character definition. Those musty, shop-worn books, available at the annual library book sales for fifty cents or a dollar, or two dollars if you insist on making your move on day one, there's gold in them thar discredited discards which you won't find anywhere else.
My house is piled high with them. I tackle them eeney-meenie-miney-moe, as the spirit moves me. If I find a clunker, it's the price of a candy bar out the window. If I find a winner, and I find many winners, my husband can hear me squeal all over the house: Fabulous! This thing is fabulous! Sweetie! Listen to this! It's priceless!
Good thing he's a book person too, or he'd have me locked up long time gone.
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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None of you have mentioned this (thankfully!) but I am always perplexed by writers who don't want to read anything or don't want to read within their own genre for fear that it will affect their own writing. The fact is that to become a good writer, you must be a reader, and you really do need to read within your own genre, if only to educate your self on what's selling.
Thoughts?
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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I heard the crack of a bat and a high, hard fast one blasted right out of the park on that one, Colleen! You are so right. So very, very right.
Whenever I read a comment like that from an amateur writer I dismiss that person as a gibbering fool. (Notice I said amateur, not professional writer—a professional might very well take a hiatus from reading certain kinds of genre material AFTER they have already spent years reading and writing in their field. They are familiar with the work of the masters; they know enough to put a unique spin on old concepts and shop-worn, trite plots as they go about their own writing practice.)
If that seems overly harsh so be it; there's no other phrase to describe my feelings for someone so woefully misguided, intellectually lazy and insulting. I always want to ask these people: Would you attempt to drive a car by getting behind the wheel and randomly yanking levers, hammering buttons and stomping pedals until something "interesting and original" happens?
As to the argument that you're some kind of genius primitivist who doesn't want your "mainlined-straight-from-the-Muse" insights and artistic expression "straight-jacketed into stifling forms" by such banal, time-consuming and difficult tasks as actually sitting down to study and practice various forms of the craft, I say: BS! You're full of it. That excuse is simply fear and ignorance masquerading as “too-cool-for-school” Beatnik-ism.
Or as I originally said: You're a gibbering fool. So please have the courage and the decency to admit—if you use this kind of argument for why you don't do the hard work of reading and thinking about your field—that you're a lazy, word-hating, untalented hack and/or off-the-rails eccentric doing the equivalent of finger-painting on the wall with your own feces. You are engaged not in practice but in pranksterism.
You may very well be amusing yourself, but you're irritating the s*#t out of me. And any reader who would part with hard-earned cash for the “privilege” of reading your drivel.
::ahem:::
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Carl, I stand with you on this one hundred percent. My impulse was to express a sentiment similar to yours, but, knowing that I have a sharp tongue, and a big mouth, and fearing that I may be wearing out my welcome on this site and I've only just joined up, I decided to be kind.
I have absolutely no fear of copying anyone else's style. First of all, I read so widely that if I do adopt elements of this or that author, it's counterbalanced by a dozen other influences. By the time a pilfered phrase or even an approach to a problem emerges from my endless rewrites, it's wholly my own, bearing little resemblance to the original.
Someone (I wish I could recall who) said, 'In order to have good ideas, you have to have lots of ideas'. Well, in order to write well, you have to read well, that is, voluminously. And, hopefully, you learn from it.
Mimi Speike
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 26
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I go through roughly 2 week phases.
I write 24/7 for about 2 weeks (once I get going I can't stop. Unfortunatly I get in the habbit of jotting down an idea and then it errupts and begs me to continue so I end up with three or four projects at the same time.) But then I pick up a good book and cant put it down. After I'm finished I have to read another one and another and so on. Then one of my porjects will whimper and beg for some attention and the cycle repeats.
I wish it was more balanced, but I'm such a busy body and hardly ever have time to either write or read, doing both is a luxury I don't often have.
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Joined: 4/4/2011
Posts: 6
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I agree with the idea and I will gladly reach for the goal. I love Sandra Browns' work. I haven't read much of anything but my textbook and articles that catch my attention.
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Joined: 11/30/2011
Posts: 2
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I think reading is absolutely necessary to being a good writer. When I first started writing, I worried that if I read within the genre I was writing, I might borrow non-deliberately from other writers, which is something I really wanted to avoid. However, whenever I had huge problems with a particular scene, such as intimate scenes or the fantasy settings of particular scenes--even battle scenes, I'd go back to my favorite books and read how other authors approached the topic. It really helped me gain perspective on how I could approach other topics. I think that reading gives us so much knowledge and we discover different techniques and methods of writing in writers we like.
So definitely, definitely read as much as you write. I find it's sometimes hard to strike a balance between both, but attempt it, because it's completely worth it.
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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While I would like to write as much as I read, I know that's a bit impossible for me to achieve. I'm an unrepentent bookworm. And the Kindle only makes it easier to be one. But I try to write every day, something--whether it's one of my two novels, a short story or part of a fanfic I'm rewriting.
I would like to echo the sentiment that it's foolish to refuse to read a particular genre or anything while writing. I understand the idea not to copy someone's style and the like, but that danger lies every where. A line from a TV show, a name from a movie, etc. I like to read what I write for all the reasons discussed above.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 52
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I read a ton. I'm addicted to it. I have to read everyday. Usually, I'll read in bed before I go to sleep. I've found it helps me sleep better. It shuts down my thoughts and worries of the day. I wake up ready to write.
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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I find reading before bed wakes me up more because it's always "Okay, just one more chapter..." And then it's half a book later and my mind is more active than before.
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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Bumping up this discussion for new members to see!
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Joined: 6/14/2012
Posts: 194
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How much I read depends on the demands of the project in hand--if there's a deadline looming, the only books I get to read are those in the bathroom (and no sitting there for an hour!) But I read daily, mostly out of genre. I do not read what I'm writing--if I'm in a fantasy group of books, I read SF or mystery or nonfiction or poetry--not fantasy. If I'm writing SF, I don't read SF--at least not anything remotely like mine.
What I need most to keep my brain lubricated is meat-and-potatoes reading--big solid globs of facts (a lot of nonfiction: history, anthropology, psychology, biology, geology, etc, etc, ) that may or may not be relevant to the current project--and classics going all the way back to Greek & Roman drama and poetry and histories. I try (not too successfully anymore) to re-read some of these every other year at least--they nourish me. But I do re-read anything that attracts me, until I've sucked it dry--and five years later I may pick it up again.
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Joined: 6/28/2011
Posts: 188
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During my most fertile writing period (the 5-year span from about 2004 to 2009), I spent a much greater amount of time writing fiction than reading it. I read only a handful of novels a year while writing an average of about 100,000 words annually.
On the other hand, my day job involves a substantial amount of reading, analyzing, and editing written materials, and during that same period I also devoured a large amount of material on well-written blogs. So if you include all forms of reading, I probably do a lot more reading than writing.
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Joined: 11/14/2011
Posts: 6
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I would say that I do spend as much time reading as I do writing, though, it isn't during the same period. When I am deep in a writing project, I don't read very much at all. I am focused on my WIP. But when I don't have anything going on the writing front, I read like crazy.
I would read more if I didn't work a demanding full-time job as well. There's just not the time for everything, unfortunately.
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Joined: 5/28/2012
Posts: 43
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I read more than I write. I'm graduating with my PhD in chemistry on Friday and looking for a job, so my life is kind of hectic right now. But I always make myself write for 30 minutes on weekdays and 1 hour on weekends and/or holidays. I get about 150,000 words in 5 months this way. (I guess that would be about 1000 words a day...) I follow the same schedule for revising, which I find much less captivating as an activity, but definitely necessary.
I spend at least that much time reading, if not more. On weekends, I get much more reading in. Mostly fantasy, but I try to read at least one book a month that is not fantasy. Usually fiction, sometimes classics, sometimes more modern works.
Next job interview is at a patent law firm doing chemistry literature searches and writing. If I get it, it'll be interesting to see how all that legalese affects my fiction writing.
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