Have you ever succumbed to ‘random reading syndrome’? That moment when you’re book browsing and before you can blink, you have a
title completely outside your favourite genre by an author you’ve never heard of
in your hand. This could be because the cover was pretty, the title made you
laugh, or there was a beetle precariously walking the edge of the binding and
you were compelled to save it from plunging into the darkened crevasse between that
and the next shelved title.
Readers are not the only who may suffer this ailment. Writers
can also fall prey to a related condition. Not only might they read outside
their favourite genre, but they might even WRITE outside it too, trialling alternate
techniques within those genres just for fun!
I’m an offender on both counts. In fact, I don’t suffer from
random reading syndrome, I enjoy in it! :) By forcing myself to read
outside the known I’ve not only stumbled upon
some wonderful books I might have otherwise missed, but I’ve learned so much: about
me, about writing, about reading.
As writers it’s important to become familiar with our
genres. I’ve read a heap more YA in
the past year than I have in a decade, simply because I was writing into that
genre and it had been a while since I’d read books targeted to that age
group. But I think most writers can also identify the
immense value in reading beyond what we write (including mainstream
titles). Expanding
out literary world is good for us. It’s also equally valuable to sometimes write
outside our comfort zone. Not
necessarily a whole novel, but even a short story or poem.
While studying creative writing I took the opportunity to explore different
tenses and points of view while writing outside my most familiar genre. In one submission it was observed my written voice worked well with Chick Lit, so I also wrote a
fantasy piece with a male protagonist. (Of course...)
Perhaps that’s why it makes sense I have two titles being released
this month in two contrasting genres. Integrate
is a YA fiction and was released on Monday this week. A Devil’s Ransom is a maritime historical romance to be released
later in the month. I’ve loved
writing them both, yet I’ve also realised how swiftly a writing focus can
strangle our tendency for random reading bouts. For our own writing sakes we need to foster our inner random reader.
Besides, we might
even become a fan of a genre or author we’d never otherwise encounter. Now
there’s a great reason, if any, to turn into a different aisle in the bookstore
next time we venture there. (And don’t forget to keep an eye for any book-walking beetles or giant intergalactic chickens ...)
Adele Jones lives in Queensland, Australia.
She’s had a variety of short works published and has two novels being released
in 2014—a YA SciFi and a historical maritime romance. Her writing is inspired
by a passion for family, faith, friends, music and science – and a broad
ranging imagination. To find out more visit www.adelejonesauthor.com
