Writing, and Reading

While I feel compelled to write, write, write, at the same time I want to read, read, read everything I can. I suspect this is something like buyer's remorse--that agony you feel any time you spend money on something and then try to second guess yourself about whether it was a good purchase. If you buy a Hyundai Santa Fe, the minute you drive off the lot you are looking at all the other cars on the road wondering, "How many other people thought a Hyundai Santa Fe was the right car to buy? How popular is MY car?"

My writer's remorse is a nagging feeling that maybe my book isn't as good as all the other books out there. Maybe I could have used better descriptors. Maybe my characters are too one-dimensional, too predictable, too "stock." The only way I can find out is to read, read, read. The good thing is, every writer's skills will be enhanced by reading others' work.

And, speaking of reading, here are a couple of examples of the reading of The Idaho Plate:

My 2-month old grand-nephew, Nathan, "reading" Aunt Nancy's book.

Son, Jeremiah, reading it in Seoul, S. Korea.



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