tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post6547334381977425656..comments2024-03-26T15:49:05.333-07:00Comments on Criminal Minds: Read When I'm Writing?Josh Stallingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913654176433125233noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-12687572147527309062019-06-11T08:11:45.711-07:002019-06-11T08:11:45.711-07:00Frank, great post with good insight and strategy. ...Frank, great post with good insight and strategy. Plan your work and work the plan. My problem is that more times than not, I plan the plan too much. Good luck with Charlie 316 too, although luck will have nothing to do with the success I'm expecting you guys to have.Jim Wilskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07909318251288842856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-19250073949219413402019-06-11T07:53:13.587-07:002019-06-11T07:53:13.587-07:00I'm looking forward to your new book. It was i...I'm looking forward to your new book. It was interesting to read what your reading list consists of. Mine, too, is all over that place, although I tend to go for sci-fi or interesting science books as reading outside the mystery field. I also tend to really like the kind of mysteries that I don't write. I write a series that is in the traditional mode of small-town cops, but I like reading hard-boiled crime novels. I also like thrillers, as long as they have some decent characterization and don't consist of one fight scene after another. I don't pay attention to reading something different when I'm writing, because I don't think I'm influenced. Jeez, I hope I'm not wrong. Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478393430722574447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-43852336815478871822019-06-11T07:50:42.645-07:002019-06-11T07:50:42.645-07:00DANA, great thoughts! Excellent example of that in...DANA, great thoughts! Excellent example of that indirect influence I was referring to. You didn't write a Higgins copycat scene, but the book's craft influenced your work. Perfect example!<br /><br />DIETRICH, thanks for the support! (You, too, DANA). I hope the book meets or exceeds your expectations. And I'm glad I'm not the only one with multiple titles going at once.Frank Zafirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01846847831614880053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-72840174593248051712019-06-11T07:09:27.424-07:002019-06-11T07:09:27.424-07:00Well said, Frank. I've usually got a few books...Well said, Frank. I've usually got a few books on the go at one time too. And your new one just became one of them. I was hooked by the opening chapter you read at LCC. I'm looking forward to the rest of it. Best of luck with Charlie 316.Dietrich Kalteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06403361738445161528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-40657034296148303902019-06-11T06:24:15.795-07:002019-06-11T06:24:15.795-07:00I'm with you on reading while working on a pro...I'm with you on reading while working on a project, for somewhat similar reasons. For example, I can't read James Ellroy while working on a novel. The voice is too strong and wants to make itself felt on my WIP. I read Ellroy between drafts when my writing consists mostly of short stories, non-fiction, and, more recently, the Western. (I'm not all that concerned with his voice asserting itself in a Western.)<br /><br />On the other hand, except for Ellroy, I don't limit what I read or watch while working on a piece, as too often my reading brings to mind something I should be doing. For example, several years ago I wrote an action scene that didn't work for me. I went on, figuring I can fix it in another draft. About that time I read something by George V. Higgins (I forget which book) and the answer to my problem became clear: write the scene through dialog, one of the participants looking back and describing it to someone who wasn't there. It's a much better scene now.<br /><br />Thanks, George.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.com