WHAT A WRITER READS

WHEN THEY'RE WRITING

Gothic romance. Moody, atmospheric settings woven into a twisty plot full of drama and family secrets. The strong visual backgrounds that come through in this genre help me to pinpoint how to build a scene without overwriting a place. Plus, who doesn't love a little family drama but with fog?

Young adult fiction. This may seem like a step backwards to some writers aiming for adult audiences. However, reading fiction created for younger readers is beneficial for a number of reasons. Writing aimed at younger people provides a completely different approach to storytelling. The style, rhetoric, and structure are different and often less obtuse. This means that the storyline and characters have to be incredibly strong as there's no hiding behind poetic language, gratuitous scenes, or complex sentence structure.

Oldies but goodies. Classics are classics for a very good reason so, as writers, it's always beneficial to read the works of the best. The usual customers aside (yes, I'm looking at you Brontes, Wharton and Gaskell), I will always come back to my childhood favourites such as Georgette Heyer. It's worth a reminder that reading the creations of renowned, talented authors is going to inspire your full potential. Each of the classics have an in depth understanding of different aspects of writing: plot creation, character development, scene building, vocabulary experimentation, and balance.

History, lore and legends. No writing is off limits when it comes to finding your subject and creating your world. Research is the keystone to a believable story, is it not? Get the facts right and audiences will follow your very fictional plot and characters. Get it wrong and you may find them closing your book. Histories, lores, and legends add incredible depth to settings, timelines and characters. They can make your narrative come alive in your readers' minds. And it's true what they say: Fact is indeed stranger than fiction.