On his blog, Nathan Bransford wrote yesterday about books as existing at some point along two number scales. The first measured plot--how good the story is, the structure and pace. The other measured the writer's mastery and use of language. Any book could be given two numbers, one for plot and one for language. So, anything by Virgina Woolf might receive a 1 for plot and a 10 for writing. Dan Brown would get the inverse 10 and 1. Haruki Murakami would receive a pair of 10s. Bransford asked what people prefer to read and if that correlates to what the write.
I enjoy books on all points of the scatter chart. Twilight has a place in my bookshelf along with Atonement, Oryx and Crake, and The Graveyard Book. Bransford's scales match how I choose what book I feel like reading at a given moment more than any other mechanism I know. I ask friends to recommend a book and say, "I'm in the mood for candy," or "I want to swim in something beautiful." But I can't think of a time when I've said, "can you suggest YA paranormal," or "how 'bout dystopic fiction?"
But as a writer, I am careful to time this consumption. High scoring plot books for when I'm outlining or writing a first draft. But only well written literary when I am crafting sentences.
See, I'm one of those people who pick up accents. I don't mean to, but I drawl around my Southern friends and get more nasal around my family. So, when I am focused on word choice and sentence cadence, I want my mind to be influenced by the most beautiful writing I know.
What about you? Does your reading palate vary according to what you're writing? By these measures or some other?
I enjoy books on all points of the scatter chart. Twilight has a place in my bookshelf along with Atonement, Oryx and Crake, and The Graveyard Book. Bransford's scales match how I choose what book I feel like reading at a given moment more than any other mechanism I know. I ask friends to recommend a book and say, "I'm in the mood for candy," or "I want to swim in something beautiful." But I can't think of a time when I've said, "can you suggest YA paranormal," or "how 'bout dystopic fiction?"
But as a writer, I am careful to time this consumption. High scoring plot books for when I'm outlining or writing a first draft. But only well written literary when I am crafting sentences.
See, I'm one of those people who pick up accents. I don't mean to, but I drawl around my Southern friends and get more nasal around my family. So, when I am focused on word choice and sentence cadence, I want my mind to be influenced by the most beautiful writing I know.
What about you? Does your reading palate vary according to what you're writing? By these measures or some other?
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