There’s something so special about diving into a new book and losing yourself in a book for a while. It’s incredible how a bunch of words on a page can conjure up such vivid images, and make imaginary adventures seem so very real. As a reader, there are few things I love as much as cracking open the cover and losing myself in a different world for an hour or two until I’m not aware of time passing, the pages between my fingers, or even the exact words themselves. As a writer though, the way I read has gradually changed over time as I’ve written more and learned more about books. It’s difficult not to look at books through a different lens when you know what goes on backstage. As an author, a book isn’t just a book anymore. It’s a complex organism of many different threads and themes and foreshadowing, and you can bet that my little writerly brain is taking note of every little thing, even when I’m not consciously trying to. Today, I thought I’d share three ways I’ve noticed that I read differently as an author.
Plot Twist Predictor
A good plot twist is so satisfying. I love it when a book hits me with a twist in the late stages, turning everything I thought I knew onto its head. It’s especially satisfying when I can look back and see how the twist was subtle foreshadowed and built up ahead of time without me ever noticing. However, the more books I’ve written of my own, the more I’ve start to pick up on the foreshadowing, and extrapolate the most likely twist for the book, often with great success. I’ve read enough books and written enough of my own plot twists to know what the tropes are and pick out what the most likely twist is going to be. That doesn’t mean that a plot twist that I predict is trite or cliche, because often they’re amazing, and honestly, a plot twist is actually better if there are pieces in place leading up to it properly. It’s just that there is always some part of my brain that is looking for the solution, and guessing it much earlier than I would like to. I used to watch a lot of crime thrillers with my family, and the amount of twist endings I ruined because of this tendency is actually hilarious.
Automatic Analysis Machine
Great writing makes me forget about the individual words and pulls me deep into the story until I’m not really aware of the writing on the page because I’m so engrossed with the adventure playing out before me. It’s not always the most poetic, or fancy writing that does this. Just about any book has the potential to draw my attention away from the writing. Unless of course we’re in the middle of editing crunch time and all my editor’s brain can see is sentences that need analysing and critiquing. My brain wants to pick apart every little scrap of writing it sees. Is a word repeated in two consecutive sentences? Was that a fantastically imaginative turn of phrase? You can bet I’m noticing all of these things. It definitely gives me a greater appreciate of all the great writing I get to experience, but sometimes I would love to be able to turn off the inner critic and just enjoy a book without picking every sentence apart as I go.
Deep Discusser
Any book or movie that really affects you is likely to have you talking about it for days or weeks to come. It’s why there are fandoms in the first place, and why there’s so much buzz around the release of any big book or movie. You can’t not share your opinion, whether you loved it or not. And when you combine a passion for stories with an overactive writerly brain that loves to analyse every, you can bet that discussions with me can get deep, fast. Certain members of my family have been unwitting victims of this side effect of my brain living in constant overdrive. If I have an opinion, you can bet it’s detailed enough that I could write a whole book about it. I am absolutely deconstructing every theme, tracing every character arc, and referring back to all the preceding works in the series for context, as I discuss what’s works thematically, what doesn’t fit the tone, and where events feel forced for the sake of plot convenience. It’s great fun, but not for anyone who isn’t willing to sit for three hours and pick over every tiny detail.
Do you do any of these things? What are some of your reading habits that you think might not be quite so typical? What books or movies could you talk about for hours? Let’s chat!
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