Day 64

Writers must read, or perhaps it should be, writers should read.

Why?

Well, it is said that you cannot become a quarterback if you have not seen what a quarterback does during a game of gridiron.

And whilst a writer can be good at writing, it helps to have read the sort of books that you intend to write to get some idea of what publishers are looking for.

Certainly, if you are writing nonfiction, there’s definitely going to be a great deal of reading in store.

I actually have a library of books, about three thousand of them, not all of the genre that I choose to write, but certainly, a good cross-section to lay the groundwork of the structure of the stories and how they will play out.

There is a formula behind writing a Mills and Boon romance book.

Of course, I’ve tried to write one, but my usual tendency to drift into thriller land gets me in the end, and I have a romance for half the book, and then all the thriller trimmings to bring it home.

I also have a penchant for writing spy stories, and my shelves are filled with the usual suspects, Charles Cummins, John LeCarre, and Led Deighton just to name a few. I particularly like those of Len Deighton.

And everyone can see the influence James Patterson and Clive Cussler have had on my writing. If only I was half as good as they are…