Reading and Blogging: How they Affect Writing – Let’s Talk Bookish

It’s the last discussion of the year my friends!! I am so excited for today’s topic, not just because I think it’s great (I may be biased since it’s my topic lol) but also because it’s the final discussion of this year meaning that 2020 is finally going away!!! And also, I’m finally on winter break!! First semester is over!!! Yayy!!

Okay, I’ll calm down now lol.

As always, Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, that is hosted by me and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: Reading and Blogging: Their Effect on Writing

This is something I’ve been thinking about recently after seeing many people’s NaNoWriMo posts in the past few weeks (NaNoWriMo is a writing competition that is hosted in November) and also because I’ve been working on a story myself. So I was curious to see how people feel about reading and blogging and how it affects their writing.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve told stories. I told them to my sisters, I told them to my friends, I wrote them in my notebooks, or I just daydreamed about them. I’ve loved stories for the longest time, and reading has just increased my love for them.

I’ve always imagined that no matter what I ended up doing, I’d still publish a book someday, and I still believe I will. Books are just so amazing to me, and being able to write one, especially one that becomes a favorite for someone, would mean the world to me.

I think it’s normal to want to write a book if you love reading, because you’d want to take part in creating the stories that you love to read. But that doesn’t mean that every reader has to be a writer. Not everyone has the passion to write, or even likes writing, so it’s perfectly fine if you don’t feel that way.

I do think though that writers should be readers. Reading really helps you become a better writer because you know how stories are traditionally structured, what works and what doesn’t, and you can also learn from other writer’s mistakes.

It’s like cooking. You can’t make pasta without first trying it. How would you know if it’s actually good?

Sometimes though, I don’t always feel motivated to write. Actually that’s not right. I always feel motivated to write, I just don’t feel the same motivation to continue with the same story.

I’ve started so. many. stories over the years, and I’ve only finished about three. It’s really disappointing for me, because I sometimes feel like I’ll never publish a book since I can’t seem to stick to one plot for long enough. I don’t know if this is just me, but my motivation just never lasts and I don’t know how to make it last long enough. Any tips would be very welcome.

Another thing about this topic is the way blogging affects writing. I think blogging has helped me become a better writer because it’s opened the way for me to try new books that I wouldn’t have tried before, and it’s also given me a chance to get to know the reader community.

It’s made me realize that there are certain tropes that are more favored, certain types of characters that people would love to see more of, and also see what results in a swift and utter denial of entry into the community.

It’s also kind of made me nervous about getting published. It would be kind of awkward if a blogger friend read my book and disliked or hated it, and I happened to come across that, but I feel like I could get over it and learn from the experience. It definitely would not change our friendship though.

My biggest concern would be about being rejected by the community. I know how the community can so quickly cancel an author or a book, and I don’t want to ever be on the receiving end of that. I also know how people can really hate books (myself included) and although I love ranty reviews, I wouldn’t like them in that case because it’s my book.

I’m being kind of ridiculous because it’s inevitable that someone will hate my book, but I don’t want anyone to hate my book. Lol.

The last major thing that worries me is how my blogging will be affected if I’m an author. Can I really still be just a book blogger when I’ve crossed the “line” into authorhood? Won’t it be kind of weird to go through the publishing process, and make author friends and all, and then still be a book blogger who reads and reviews books? I just feel like it would be kind of sticky, because I don’t want to be less honest or critical because I’m trying not to hurt an author friend. I just want to be able to be me without worrying so much.

It’s not impossible to be both an author and blogger, because there are authors who are bloggers so maybe I’m just overthinking things as usual.

This Week’s Participants:

Dani @ Literary Lion | Evelyn @ Evelyn Reads | Alexis @ Alexiophiles

M.T. Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left | Millay @ Millay’s Musings

Jillian @ Jillian The Bookish Butterfly |Pilar @ The Bookworm Shelf

Marley @ Dragon on a Book

What do you think? Do you like to write? How has reading affected your blogging or writing? Am I overthinking things? How do you motivate yourself to keep writing? Have you ever finished a novel? Chat with me in the comments below!