: Re: How do I balance reading time with writing time? It's rare to find a how-to-write book or blog that doesn't have this advice: "Read. Voraciously. In all genres, especially your genre of choice,

@Speyer920

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You mentioned that you have felt most like writing when you were in a library surrounded by books. So go to the library to write! I know a couple of folks who do just that, and they have been extremely productive. They also are inspired by being surrounded by books, and they find that it is much easier to get a lot done without any distractions - which is another benefit of the library. However, a lot of libraries now have wireless service, so turn off your wireless access to keep yourself from once again allowing the web to become a distraction and a time consumer.

You also mentioned that you can't wait until you get far enough to know where you are going. It sounds to me like you need to do a little more organizing or perhaps even outlining of your story. It doesn't have to be anything fancy like you had to do in high school English. Just jot down some notes on who your characters are, what scenes they will find themselves in, and what type(s) of interaction(s) they will have. Note cards work really well for this so that you can rearrange the order easily and overlay character cards onto scenes. A timeline might be even more beneficial.

Don't worry so much about how to write. Just get in there and write until you finish your story. You can worry about cleaning it up and making it more concise when you finish the first draft and start your editing process. You may very well find yourself going through two, three, or more drafts before you feel it is finally right.

As far as making time to read, just schedule it. You know when you have to be at work, you know what time you have available, you know what household chores need to be done, and you know you want to write. Work up a schedule for all of those things and if reading is that important, then block out time to do it. You may find that you want to spend more time writing anyway!

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