Happiness and time for reading?

[Coragem]

OK guys, my day today:

I rose, and worked on my novel for one hour (working breakfast).
I went to work (day job).
I rushed home and managed another 45 minutes on the novel (feeling tired and a tiny bit stressed at this point, having worked ALL day).
I went to (rushed to) the gym for one-and-a-half hours, stopping off at the supermarket on the way home.
I immediately sat down to thrash out a little more work on the novel!

All that and I've only really worked on the novel for some 2.25hours. But what I'm noticing, today and all too many days of late, is zero time for reading. With only 2-3 hours available to me for writing I'm feeling like I have to make a choice – write OR read.

I'm just interested in whether others have been in a similar position, and what your take on it is. I've always considered reading time as crucial for my writing.

I would add that going without reading and relaxing time isn't good for my general levels of happiness. For me happiness IS a life priority, but then my philosophy is not to allow things to bother me UNLESS they're more important than being happy. Very few things in life are more important than being happy IMO, but writing is one thing that IS more important for me! I'm committed, passionate, and bordering on obsessive about my writing, which is why I make sacrifices in order to do it.

Coragem.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

It all boils down to who you want to be: a reader who writes - or a writer who also reads? Once you decide, working towards that decision will make you happier in the long term.

 

[goldenapples]

It's a difficult problem. When I'm writing, and I mean, say over the three years it took me to write a novel, I don't read anything. No time. When I'm not writing, then I read, although reading has become analytical. I'm looking for how they do this, that or the other, and so it's less of a pleasure. I have lots of unfinished novels lying around.

 

[slack]

45 minutes seems like plenty of time for a good workout. That leaves you 45 minutes to read.

You could also try audio books.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Or even half an hour for a workout, depending on how strenuous it is.



Now, what I would do is, whatever you might do on whatever days off you have, put some time into reading. And while novel writing is nice, I would actually temper that time with reading as well-and no it is NOT just about entertainment value. I find that reading is one way of keeping your literary mind up and going, whether for necessary research, or even look beyond the simple words and story into the meat of what makes a successful novel for your favorite authors-check their style, their characters, their descriptions, their scenery, you get the idea. That is not a green light to plagiarize, but rather to get a few rough sketches in.



Bottom line here is, make time to read even if it means injecting yourself with live, active flu to do it!

 

[chopper]

i have a set time for writing. there's no set time for reading, but there are books spread throughout the house. if i have a few spare minutes, i'll pick one up (and hopefully not drop it in the bath.....)

 

[MstrTal]

Put a book in the bathroom. I mean there is a reason many people call the bathroom the library.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Listen to an audio-book whilst training ; or better still work on your own work - in your mind. Whilst your body is awake and alert during strenuous excercise , so is your mind.

 

[Chel]

Personally I can't fall asleep at night without reading first. Sometimes I only read a page or two, sometimes I read an hour or two. The body gets at least some rest even when you're laying down awake, so I'm not too worried if sometimes I sleep a bit too little.

I use this as an excuse for when I'm too tired to write - in fact, ever since I started studying at the side of working (NOT a full time job thankfully!) I haven't really written much. When reading and taking mental notes about what different authors do, I learn to become a better writer. For example C.M. Palov in the book The Templar's Code* simply loves starting new sentences when none are needed, making for a very confusing and truncated read. I'm sure to try to avoid that in my own writing!

Coragem, you don't tell us how you get to and from work. Could you read or listen to an audio book on the way there and back? Could you do that while having your lunch break?



*I found the actual story pretty intriguing although the writing itself wasn't much to my liking