Jenyfer Matthews

I haven’t been writing much over the holidays but I’ve been thinking about writing, a lot. And not just my own.

I was recently invited to join a book group. I was reluctant to accept the invitation for a couple of reasons. As I’ve said before, I don’t have a lot of time for reading. I don’t usually read during the day because once I lose myself in a good book nothing else gets done. When I do allow myself to read I tend to read books which I expect will inspire my own writing – I highly doubted that the book group would be reading romance or women’s fiction. And – this might surprise you – I worried about whether I’d have anything worthwhile to contribute to the discussion.

In spite of my reservations, I accepted their invitation. I figured that meeting once a month was hardly the biggest time commitment. At the very least I’d read a book I might not otherwise have read and discuss it with new friends while drinking a nice glass of wine. Not really so scary a proposition.

I enjoyed the book we read and as I went along I made mental notes, kept track of themes and turned over the story lines in my mind so that I would have something to discuss at the appropriate time. And I think being a writer aided my reading of the story. I can’t *not* see the structure and themes of a story. If a story is well written, I assume that the author included certain ideas for a reason. If something is particularly well done or phrased I take mental notes. If a book isn’t well written, I edit it in my head as I go along.

I cringe every time I hear someone say that they don’t like to read books with “too much text” (in a book? really??) and that they skim through “too much description”. When I write, I pick every word and phrase carefully to convey the story in my mind. I don’t describe scenes or actions gratuitously to pad my word count – the words are meant to be read and remembered, not skimmed until the reader gets to the “good part”. I read the same way. I remember detail and if something is presented in a story and then not followed up, I notice.

As it turns out, I had more than enough to say and I picked up on some ideas and themes that the others had overlooked. I forget that not everyone reads like I do. Most non-writers are just reading for the pleasure of the story while I’m busy analyzing and dissecting. I could practically have written a term paper on the themes involved.

Hmmm… maybe I need to tone it down. I always have been a bit of an overachiever. Next time I’ll have more wine – I don’t want to make them sorry they asked me to join them!