It’s the start of a new year and no doubt you’re thinking about and setting your writing goals for 2014. In the midst of that, let me suggest you set your reading goals as well. One thing I know about writers is that we are readers. I’m no different. I typically have at least 4 books on my “currently reading” Goodreads shelf. In 2014, I want to be more purposeful in my reading, so I’ve come up with three key categories of books I want to be sure and read this year.
Writing Craft books
We continue to learn and grow as writers, so I picked out the 5 writing books listed. Now I’ll be reading these in small chunks, giving myself time to absorb and put the new information into practice. (You’ll notice I also threw in a couple on business and professional side of writing. I can always use help there).
- The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
- The Power of Point of View by Alicia Maisley
- Writing 21st Century Fiction by Donald Maass
- Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton
- Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan
- APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch
- Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt
Fiction
I don’t read enough fiction. Period. Reading good fiction, in your genre and outside of it, provides a case study in character development, story construction, description and dialogue with each and every book. So I have four good solid books on my list – not including the one I’m reading right now – and any number of lighter ones when pool season arrives.
Research
I need a good handle on the issues my characters struggle with, so I read a stack of psychology and counseling type books, and memoirs each year. These types of books help me build deep, realistic characters. And I admit, they are my favorites. Usually the trouble I have with these is having far more books than time to read them.
As a writer, what do you read?
Paula Wiseman is an award-winning, bestselling author. Paula has published six books with book publisher MindStir Media. Her sixth published book, Sanction, was released earlier this month. She also had the honor of appearing on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act,” where she discussed her books. Learn more about Paula Wiseman at her website/blog: www.paulawiseman.com
