Writing involves lots of elements – voice, character, style, plot, structure, etc. I find that whatever I’m reading at a given moment influences how I write, so I try to be a little more targeted when I’m working on a big project. During the outline phase of my novel, I tried to read more for plot, to get a sense of pace and how things fit together. These are some of the books I read during that period:
Reading for plot:
Jack Kilborn, Afraid. This is a pacy thriller with a twisted plot, lots of strands. Sometimes a little unbelievable, but it’s all good fun. File under Rollercoaster.
James Patterson, When the Wind Blows. Again, pacy, action-filled, slightly stretching credulity, but loads of tense fun. I read this without realising that it was kind of linked to the Maximum Ride series.
Matthew Reilly, Seven Ancient Wonders, I already mentioned Reilly in an earlier blog. Also under Rollercoaster.
The plot in the draft did diverge somewhat from my intitial outline, but of course, that was influenced by other things as I worked.
Next “Reading for writing” post – style
