Blank, Blank, Blank, Write, Write, Write, Revise, Revise, Revise, Repeat

I’ve been bothered a lot lately about my writing. Mainly, it’s the lack of writing. It’s the lack of being a writer. At first, I thought this was just a post-holiday funk, but after looking at my writing habits for the last few months, I found my writing “block” might go much further than a mere funk.

Over the summer, I participated in a writer review group where I read and reviewed another author in exchange for a review of my own book. I read some good books and some not-so-good books, but because this was an obligation read, it sucked the fun right out of it. I was reading for the review.

After the group ended, I became disinterested in reading in general. Hell, I didn’t even want to read comic books. This all happened about the time I wrapped up Soul Seekers, which marked the time from which my writing habits completely disintegrated before the holidays.

Leaving me here, looking back and wondering what went wrong.

Reading is a huge part of writing, a part that slipped away from me. I was reminded of this last night while reading a post on Reddit. The question was “Do you always have to be reading to be a writer?” and one of the most poignant answers was this:

A musician never asks, “Do I Always Need To Be Listening to Music?” They just listen to music, always.

Wow. How had I let this important lesson slip by me? I’ve always loved to read, but somehow in the last few months, my “love” for reading turned into a chore that simply vanished. But why?

Perhaps because my love for books had begun to decline. Since publishing Spirit Summoner over a year ago, I’ve easily spent most of my “writing time” doing things like marketing. Blog posts take up a lot of the gaps in between, as does editing, leaving very few hours of actual writing time.

Since becoming a published author, a little piece of me has become turned off to the idea of books. I’ve forgotten about the fun and adventure one can have with a book. So how do I go about changing my perceptions?

Like a true Bookaholic, admitting I have a problem is the first step. The first thing I did this morning was pull a book from my shelf, one I’ve been meaning to read for a while now, as well as load a couple books on my Kindle app. Coupled with my own techniques for curing blocks (I posted about this last week), I hope to turn my funk around quickly.

I’m really looking forward to reacquainting myself with my love for reading again. Please, if you have any suggestions for reading, I’m all ears!