How Reading can make you a Better Writer.

When I first started writing, I gave up reading fantasy stories for reasons I explain here. I didn’t feel confident as a writer to able to tell her own stories, and I also experienced imposter syndrome, which took a huge toll on my confidence. Despite that, I have now self-published four books and am working on six others. My characters seem well-rounded and the stories differ widely, making me feel better about my abilities.

After a month of no creativity and continued ill health, I didn’t feel right wasting even more time on Solitaire, so I turned once more to my books. After seeing quite a few posts about David Eddings on various fantasy book sites, I decided to re-read an old favourite, The Belgariad. Consisting of five books, the series centres on a young boy's journey with his aunt and grandfather as he comes into his destiny and fulfils an ancient prophecy.

The story didn’t disappoint after 40 years, despite my finding things that jarred slightly as well as a couple of typos! Reading a well-loved classic as a writer who has spent the last six years honing and refining her art was enlightening, but it also did something I was not expecting.

It kick-started my creativity and helped me envision an ending for my latest WIP, something that had been eluding me for months.

My fears of plagiarism were unfounded, mainly because my stories stand on their own, and I don’t need to copy another’s work. My other fear of becoming crippled with self-doubt and loathing also didn’t materialise. I even dared to imagine that I would have written the story differently and, of course, improve it.

My eureka moment came while reading the last book in the series. There is a great battle at the end involving many of the main characters. As expected, only a couple of minor characters died, which didn’t impact me emotionally at all. As the story progressed, one of the main characters was killed, and this is when I realised what I needed in my own book.

I don’t believe relating it will be a spoiler. In fact, I’m quite certain of it. Durnik, a wonderful, quiet, honest man, steady and loyal to a fault, has followed Garion’s Aunt Pol tirelessly. He loves her, and she him, but events that have been foretold for years are playing out and there isn’t really time for a romance. He is a lovely character who any reader would be fond of. Killing him off should have cut my heart open and have me wailing in sorrow, but it didn’t.

First, we don’t witness his death. Instead, we are eavesdropping through an almost closed door, already partially removed from the action. Only after Durnik is dead are we allowed to enter the room and witness the aftermath. That creates a distance between the story and our emotions.

The second and far greater issue is that it is not unexpected. Right from the very first book, Durnik is identified as “The One who Dies Twice”. Having spent the whole series hale and hearty, we know that somehow, he will be returned to life. Instead of bawling my eyes out, I merely shrugged and carried on reading.

I’m certain that Eddings book would have been even better if we had witnessed a shocking death, which appears to be the end of a good man and destroys a fledgling love affair before it has a chance to grow.

Suddenly, my own imagination sparked, and I knew I needed that emotional impact for the end of my WIP. Something for my readers to cry out about. Something that would pull on the heartstrings. As soon as I figured out what it was going to be, I started writing with passion again, because I finally had direction.

Now that I know I won’t be either plagiarising a good book, or suffering from crippling imposter syndrome after finishing, I’m keen to read more fantasy books. In fact, this year I have set myself a goal of reading at least one a month. I have a few sitting on my TBR pile, but I also want to revisit some old favourites.

If you have a great read that you’d like to share, especially of recent fantasy publications, do let me know. If I love them, I intend to recommend them to the subscribers of my newsletter each month.

I’m really excited to start reading again!

But first, I need to finish this draft…