Notes From An Amateur Writer #40 - Read, Write and Face the Future
Notes From an Amateur Writer #40
READ, WRITE, AND FACE THE FUTURE
This Blog series is an exercise in creative writing. Sometimes expressed in short story form, sometimes as a journal, or just my thoughts written down. This is my attempt to help coalesce my writing ideas and knowledge into usable form. It is a nursery of sorts for the stories that are on their way, or yet to be written.
This is post 3 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.
A New 30 Day Challenge
I had already decided to write a blog post every day for a minimum of 30 days starting in the new year. Having just seen that @dragosroua's 30 day challenge has returned it turned out to be perfect timing and so I have committed to doing that. Like last time my overall theme is writing, but this is somewhat broad. Specifically there will be posts such as yesterday's book review. I have in fact decided that I would like to post a review each week as part of my endeavours to delve more deeply into the written word. Also, the Notes From an Amateur Writer will return in a more regular format (such as today's post) including many journal type entries, stream of consciousness style writing, and anecdotes related to (or twisted just right to look like they relate to) writing.
I have also started to write a new series to post weekly based around the 'travel blog' of someone who has never travelled, nor written a blog. A fictional way to explore writing, humour, and my own unexplored travel wishes.
And naturally, given my stated interests in this field, I will be posting my short stories.
2018 Reading List
As you can see from the list below I have a tendency to read more than one book at a time. Some of these I did start and put aside and then got distracted by another book and simply forgot to get back to. But I am started on all of the books listed below, and intend to complete them shortly.
I have also included a section on books on my current to read list. This is far from exhaustive. It's just ones that I have ready to go, which I have usually flipped through the first few pages to get a feel for how it begins, and decide I will like to give it a go.
My to read wish list is far far longer than that. Many of the classics of SciFi from Philip K Dick (most of which I have already read but would like to go through once more), and Robert A Heinlein, to Stephen King's classics, as well as his Dark Tower series, and modern thrillers and mysteries will find their way onto that list this year.
Science Fiction has always been a favourite genre of mine, but I have often had difficulty finding the sub genres within it that appeal to me. Space Opera was never huge on my list. I have included some of this style on my wish list to get a better feel for the genre, so hopefully I can grow to appreciate it a bit more. Cyberpunk is often more appealing but can often be too cliched. I like them to be a thriller or mystery type of story.
Whilst I have never really gotten into classic Fantasy type novels, I have come to enjoy a more Urban Fantasy style. I will be looking for more of these types. Author's such as Neil Gaiman. Magic, mystery, and imagination, as opposed to High Fantasy.
And also Thrillers have started to get my attention, thanks to some very good reads of late. The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), I Am Pilgrim, as well Orphan X were the ones to captivate me there, so I will be hunting for more of that quality and style.
Novels That I Am Currently Reading
- The Girl Who Played With Fire - Steig Larrson
- Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
- The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
- The Switch - Elmore Leonard
- The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
- The Sellout - Paul Beatty
Anthologies That I Am Currently Reading
- Ecstatic Inferno - Autumn Christian
- The Collected Stories of Philip K Dick, Volume 1 - Philip K Dick
Writing Tutorial Books That I Am Currently Reading
- Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft: A step-by-step guide - Janice Hardy
- Creating Character Arcs - K M Weiland
- Structuring Your Novel Workbook - K M Weiland
Non-Fiction Books That I Am Currently Reading
- The Great Shark Hunt - Hunter S Thompson
- The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything Fast – Josh Kaufman
Novels On My (Current) To Read List
- The Fifth Season - N K Jemisin
- The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
- The Man in the High Castle - Philip K Dick
There is certainly a lot of reading to tackle on that list, but I am up for the challenge (and this particular challenge will be more of a 365 day challenge). My hope is for many of these to lead to inspiration and ideas for my own blog and story ideas. Which is part of my ongoing journey to one day have a blog titled Notes From a Professional Writer.
This is post 3 in @dragosroua's January 30 day writing challenge.
Images from unsplash.com and used with permission.
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@naquoya
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Notes From An Amateur Writer Collection
Your 2018 reading list seems packed! Well at least for a slow reader like me. But, considering your quest to improve your inner reader, I have no doubt you'll be able to get through everything in a couple of months. Looking forward to reading that new travel blog series of yours!
It is packed, even for me. And it is still growing in size. It will be a challenge, but I have more spare time than I used too, so I may as well utilise it. I posted the first in the travel series last Thursday, and have the next one ready. I will keep that to a Thursday schedule. Let me know what you think. It's a deliberately humorous take on the style, whilst allowing me to explore another avenue of creative writing.
Oh I love the Stieg Larson books! I also read The Night Circus and am currently re-reading The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. I loved it so much that I recommended it to my book club. Great books!
You appear to be a very prolific reader. I try, but am limited by time and the fact that I can’t keep my eyes open when the chaos of the day is finally done. But I discovered audible books and that has made all the difference!
I have more spare time than I used to have at the moment, so that certainly helps with my reading and writing goals. Audio books are great but I haven't gotten into them in a big way just yet. Still an old fashion reader. Okay not quite true - I have progressed to a Kindle. That has helped a lot.
I am on my second reading of the 100 Year Old Man, loved it so much the first time. Really enjoying the Night Circus, and love the fact that she wrote that initially as part of NanoWrimo. That was inspiring.
Oh, that's a fun fact! I had no idea The Night Circus author wrote that initially in NaNoWriMo. I have not yet looked into taking part of that endeavor, but I think it's phenomenal. But hopefully, someday.
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That's a very good point. Sounds like a great tag line for a blog.
I read both of these:
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Man in the High Castle - Philip K Dick
...years ago and really, really appreciated them. They have both been made into series. I got through The Handmaid's Tale, but couldn't get into The Man in the High Castle. Books are always better.
I've previously read The Man In The High Castle, and loved it. It was many years ago, and having watched the TV series wanted to read it again. The TV show does go into far more detail, and I want to see if I can notice what other differences they wrote into.
The TV series of the Handmaid's Tale really grabbed me. This is where my interest in the book came from. The story is so intriguing.
As always, the book is better. :)
That is usually the case. Sometimes I come across a film that matches the book (rarely betters it). Bladerunner was one. The book (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) was brilliant and is one of my favourites, but the film made enough changes to it to be considered its own story, and just based on the book. And I like both of those equally.
But in the vast majority of the time the book beats the film.
My writing for Steemit has slowed down my reading, your reading list has inspired me to go get a book.
Well if I can inspire yo to pick up another book then I'm happy with that. Just as your writing inspires me so many times I read it. We keep paying it forward.
Thank you so much for this, a whole new world for me!!!
And thank you for reading through it. Certainly happy if you can learn something new from what I've written.
Very helpful and I like the examples of good books!
This I've seen hyped up from TED videos and motivation speakers :D
bump me if I miss the review :P
I've just started to read that one, and so far I'm liking what I am reading. It's one that needs to be put to the test though. See if the advice in it stacks up. And to be honest, so far I think it will. I'm looking forward to using it to move ahead in a couple of fields of interest. And I will certainly be writing a review of that one when I reach that point.