slr2moons | Hmmm...

I've often wondered if I read too much. Or rather, if I spend too much time reading both prose and graphic novels when I should be drawing or writing. I've noticed when I read interviews with very prolific authors--be they prose or graphic artists, professional or fannish--they seem to always admit they don't spend much time reading. They're too busy creating their own stuff.

This has been bothering me recently. I normally spend a large portion of my day reading. It's how I wake up in the morning, how I go to sleep. I read while I cook meals, I read to take breaks from work, sometimes I read while I exercise. Read read read! I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. Indeed, I was that kid in elementary school who took a book outside for recess. Who wanted to play in the dirt when they could read instead??

All those interviews, though, have been weighing on my mind. I probably spend about 4 hours a day reading in some form, and those hours would be more efficiently spent drawing or writing. I know I know, if I stopped relaxing and did nothing but work instead I'd burn myself out, but all things in moderation, right? Surely it would be better to spend half an hour on lunch than a full hour?

So yes, I have been feeling guilty about reading too much. Until I happened to read Stephen King's book On Writing. This book isn't fiction, it's the story of how he began writing, his current work method, some dos and donts for going pro, and his philosophy on the whole writing-for-a-living. The part of Mr. King's book I found most interesting was that he believes in order to write, you need to read. For hours every day. Reading is studying, it is observing the current and past trends, making note of what works and what doesn't, who is good, who is bad, and why.

Upon reading Mr. King's opinion about this, I realized that I agree with him. I already knew the benefits of reading so much, I just didn't know I knew it! What Mr. King DID do for me is banish the sense of guilt I have about my constant reading. Yes, I need to control it and not use this as an excuse to go crazy, but it is GOOD that I read.

Ahhhh! What a relief!! *has starry eyes* Now if you will excuse me, there is a manga volume I need to finish. *happy smile*