Bibliophobia

Dear Reader,

I am faced with something I don't ever remember facing. The book I am currently reading for my diet is a mystery by Agatha Christie. This is my first Christie book and, from what I understand it is one of the most famous mysteries ever written. But that's not why I'm writing this. The next book in my diet is a romance by Nicholas Sparks titled THE NOTEBOOK. I knew that eventually I was going to have to tackle the genre of romance, but I was not looking forward to it. You see, there are three different types of romance novels. There are what I call the acceptable romance novels. These are the regular novels about boy meets girl. This is Kurt Vonnegut's view on the subject:




In this story line, an average guy meets a girl, his life becomes great until, "son of a bitch," they fight and make up and he is better off than before. This is the type of novel I will be reading for my diet. The other two types of romances are cheesy, mediocre romances written by people who just want to get published, and what I call PBP: PaperBack Porn. Smut. The books that are often on the shelves of your local grocery store with pictures of nearly naked men on the cover. Let's put the latter two aside because I do not plan on reading anything that falls under that category. What I want to focus on is my first ever case of bibliophobia. I am afraid of reading THE NOTEBOOK.

Allow me to explain. I love to read Stephen King, fantasy, some science-fiction, YA, mystery, horror, etc. I am a slow reader, so I have not read much of any of these with the exception of Stephen King novels. However, I feel comfortable talking about any and all of these genres. See, I am an observer. I notice things, especially in books. My wife tells me that is one of the advantages I have as a slower reader. I see more than most people. More than that, though, I just know enough about these types ofj stories to talk about them.

I know nothing about the genre of romance. I have never read a romance novel in my life, and I suspect that after reading Sparks' novel I'll never read another one again. In writing the chapters for my other books, I could draw on past experiences, but I can't do that with THE NOTEBOOK. I chose this book because of the fantastic story of its publication. This was Sparks' first novel. Many novels do not receive much attention from publishers, let alone debut novels. However, when Sparks received an offer from his publishers, they gave him a $1,000,000 advance. That is six zeroes. One million dollars. Unheard of in a debut novel.

I want to find out if I can see what the publishers saw, but I'm afraid I will miss it because I don't have the background in this genre that I do in others. I do not like romance novels, I do not like the idea of romance novels. Other people do, and that's fine. I just don't want to miss out on an opportunity to grow as a writer. I guess I will just have to read it to find out if I can pick up on the literary cues.

Anyway, that is what I'm struggling with for now. Until next time, Reader.

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.

Beau James

Writer's Diet Cont.

Dear Reader,

In case you didn't gleen from my last post, I am in the midst of a very important diet as a writer. I have set up a list of books for myself to read this year. My plan is to experience the diet for a year and publish a book about how to become a better writer through reading. After each book I read, I write a chapter on that category/book. In my next post I will go more in-depth into the Writer's Diet, but for now I am interested in what you like to read in the following categories:

- Classics
Books that are well written and have stood the test of time, let's say at least 75 to 100 years.

- Contemporary classics
Just like classics, but have yet to stand the test of time

- Genres
What genres do you like to read and what books in those genres?

- Bestsellers
What bestseller lists, if any, do you look at when choosing a book. What do you look for in a bestseller?

- Ancient classics
Mythologies and fairy tales

-Literary junkfood

Please let me know what you like to read in these areas. I am always interested in talking about books and, unlike many people, I take suggestions seriously. Until then,

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.

Beau James

Writer's Diet

Dear Reader,

Whew, now that school's over for the year and my computer is up and running again, I can focus on what I really love doing, which is writing. Of course, along with writing goes reading. How you can have one without the other is beyond me. They in fact complement each other. The more you write, the more you enhance your literacy skills. And the more you read, the better writer you become. Which is why I created the Writer's Diet. This is a diet for anyone wanting to write fiction.

Are you having trouble writing? Do you feel like your written skills leave something to be desired? If so, then you are a fat, lazy writer. Having trouble figuring out where your story is going? Then you need to get your butt out of that chair and head over to your bookshelf, or better, a bookstore. But wait. Why should I be reading when my struggle is with writing? If you seriously just asked that question then things are worse than I thought. Just put the pen/pencil/laptop down and take a deep breath. This isn't a permanent banishment from the blank page. It's just a lifestyle change. Remember, if you want to become a better writer, you can (I can). That blank page actually isn't as scary as it first seems as long as you have a good book handy. But wait. Won't reading distract me from writing, especially if it is a really good book? The answer is that if you are truly a writer, nothing can distract you from writing. Almost everything makes you think about it. Most importantly, you read things differently. Books become more than just getaways for you. They become vehicles for your writing. When you read classics, whether they are regular, contemporary (newer), or ancient (much, much older), you learn how to emulate that style. When you read a specific genre that you want to write, you start to pick up on what makes that genre work. When you read bestsellers, you begin to understand what people want to read. All of these things help make you a better writer. The question is, if that's the case then why the hell wouldn't you read more?

I thought that maybe I was being too harsh. After all, anytime I ask people if they like to read, the most common response I get is "I would, but I just don't have the time." So, starting at the beginning of this year I decided to take on the Writer's Diet myself and see if I could complete it in a year. I mean, if there is anyone who doesn't have the time, it's me. I was going to school four days a week, I am working full time, I have lots of homework, and on top of all that, I had over a dozen novels to read for school, none of which were going to contribute to me diet. All that on top of 18 books in a year with me writing about each book afterward (this gave me an approximate deadline of 20 days to finish reading and then writing about it for each book) was quite the daunting task. I decided to make it my New Year's resolution. School just ended for the summer and I've only missed one deadline (the latest one), and I am well on my way to catching back up. I recently got hired at a second job and will also be spending a good portion of my time studying for a very important exam that I have to take in the summer, so the pressure hasn't really let up. Not to mention, I am a slow reader (just ask my wife). Why am I telling you this? Because if I can do it, you can, too. Stop making the excuses and just start reading. You will be a better writer for it.

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.

Once again,

James