AUTHORS: Do your wives/husbands/partners read your stories?
- Thread starter Tino
- Start date
I think another question should be:
Do they read there own stories once it's out in book form and then go "What If"
Do they read there own stories once it's out in book form and then go "What If"
My wife doesn't read all of the Trek stuff I write; she's not as into it as she used to be. She does read some of my other stuff from time to time.
I don't really read stuff of mine once it's published, but will revisit it as needed if I'm working on something is somehow connected to the earlier work.
I don't really read stuff of mine once it's published, but will revisit it as needed if I'm working on something is somehow connected to the earlier work.
Deb hasn't read my fiction since Doors into Chaos, I believe. She usually admires the finished product, checks the dedication and acknowledgments, smiles at seeing her name spelled properly and hands it back to me.
Ditto. I'll go back and reread something if it affects what I'm writing now, but otherwise I just admire them on my bookshelf!
And my girlfriend gave me lots of valuable input on my early Trek novels, but lately she's been way too busy with her own work. Now she just puts up with me ranting about vampires and superheroes all the time!
I have neither a spouse or partner, but there's still enough novelty when I get published that my family and friends will ask for copies to read.
^ My wife used to read my books when they came out, but over the past few years, between graduate school and now her new job, she no longer has time to read my work (or much of anything else not work-related).
My wife reads all of my work, both at the first- or second-draft stage, and again at publication. In addition to simply being supportive, Karen also has keen editorial abilities, and she has often helped to improve the final product.
Since Dayton and Greg mentioned it, I'll add that I almost never reread my own work once it's been published. I have occasionally found the need to do so, though, as some novel here or there has had some bearing on my current work. The experience, I have found, is almost universally disappointing, and even quite frustrating, as I typically encounter flaw after flaw after flaw.
Since Dayton and Greg mentioned it, I'll add that I almost never reread my own work once it's been published. I have occasionally found the need to do so, though, as some novel here or there has had some bearing on my current work. The experience, I have found, is almost universally disappointing, and even quite frustrating, as I typically encounter flaw after flaw after flaw.
The thing is, by the time a book sees print, I've already read it way too many times: during revisions, reviewing the copyedit, proofreading the galleys . . . . Trust me, I'm in no hurry to read it again once the printed version comes out!
As it happens, I'm probably going to be proofreading the new 4400 book all weekend . . . .
As it happens, I'm probably going to be proofreading the new 4400 book all weekend . . . .
I've found going back into stuff I wrote 8-10 years ago that I've got no memory of writing it at all... which is quite alarming!
I've spent the last few years cultivating my wife (a non-writer) into a solid first reader. She reads the the first draft of everything I write and offers critical comments on the story, plot, and so on. Sometimes she'll read a second draft or the final, but most of the time the first draft gets enough good comments from her that I feel comfortable with the revision to send it out without another read.
Sometimes she reads the stuff once it's printed, but she's picky. She'll read some Trek, but not all of it.
I've found it harder to read my own stuff after it's been published, largely for the reasons David mentioned above. I grow as a writer after every story I write, and looking back at an older story just makes me sit there and think "I coulda changed this and this and this..."
Sometimes she reads the stuff once it's printed, but she's picky. She'll read some Trek, but not all of it.
I've found it harder to read my own stuff after it's been published, largely for the reasons David mentioned above. I grow as a writer after every story I write, and looking back at an older story just makes me sit there and think "I coulda changed this and this and this..."
^ I do have one exception to the "I don't read it again" thing. I got an idea for a novel-length story that tied into a short I wrote some time ago, and ended up fleshing out a full outline. The novel would -- if written -- end up being a prequel to the short story (Who does that?).
My husband does read every first draft I write and revisions if they are substantive. Sometimes he'll also read the final published version too. He offers his input along the way and has been responsible for some fairly huge shifts in my thoughts as I was working through difficult sections. He usually has a visceral positive or negative reaction to something and if its negative, once I'm done cursing his name for adding to my workload I realize that he was usually right and then I curse him a little more. And then I make the necessary changes. He doesn't ever tell me how to change a scene or whatever, just that it really does or dosen't work for him. It's an interesting process, and one I'm grateful he's willing to participate in with me.
I don't tend to re-read published stuff for the same reasons many have cited above. No time and no interest after having read it who knows how many times when I was writing it.
I don't tend to re-read published stuff for the same reasons many have cited above. No time and no interest after having read it who knows how many times when I was writing it.
Pffffffft! In that case I have no idea what you're reading... *shakes head*
I'm not a novelist and to be honest, I doubt I'll ever write one, but when it comes to writing other stuff, especially going back and reading old essays from college and university, I do find what I've written cringe worthy, but then again, when it comes to my own work, I am my biggest critique. So I get where David is coming from. (if I may be so bold)
As for getting others to read over work, I'm single now, but I used to have my then girlfriend go over things and proof read them as she had a far better understanding of the English Language which helped as her mum and sister are English teachers and she is a librarian.
^ Well, TBH, now that I've finished my Arts degree, going through what I wrote in high school is wonky too. I'm finding errors I'm sure my teachers should have caught- but never noted. (Even the submission I never sent to SNW now somehow seems less great. 
)
But I've read Twilight many times- its one of my favourite DS9PF books, and I've read his WoDS9 story a few times. And those are just 2 examples. If there is really "flaw after flaw after flaw" then I'm slipping...
Plus, given the length of his usual works, if we made a ratio of errors to word count...
)But I've read Twilight many times- its one of my favourite DS9PF books, and I've read his WoDS9 story a few times. And those are just 2 examples. If there is really "flaw after flaw after flaw" then I'm slipping...
Plus, given the length of his usual works, if we made a ratio of errors to word count...
My wife Sandra is not a sci-fi person, so has mixed feelings about reading that portion of my work. She wants to be supportive, but beyond that doesn't have personal interest or have any of the background knowledge that helps when reading a Trek story. So I don't think she's read any of them beforehand, and, to be honest, I can't remember if she's read them when published! But she has read non-sci-fi stuff and provided comments. She's not a writer, but she is a voracious reader, so she does have good insights into stories. I do think she has a hard time telling me when she doesn't like something, however, so that makes it tricky.
ETA: I sometimes read something in print, but like David mentioned, it's easy to second guess yourself . . . "What was I thinking having the Thixiuvian ambassador mate with a Shulakdar sponge bear? I'm an idiot!"
ETA: I sometimes read something in print, but like David mentioned, it's easy to second guess yourself . . . "What was I thinking having the Thixiuvian ambassador mate with a Shulakdar sponge bear? I'm an idiot!"
I re-read my stuff all the time, actually, particularly if I'm writing something that is a followup in some form or other. For example, when I wrote A Good Day to Die and Honor Bound, I re-read Diplomatic Implausibility and The Brave and the Bold Book 2. Then when I wrote Enemy Territory, I re-read all four previous books, and then when I wrote A Burning House, I re-read all five, as well as "A Song Well Sung" and "loDnI'pu' vavpu' je." That's just basic research.
Also, when I wrote Articles of the Federation, I re-read A Time for War, a Time for Peace; before sitting down to write StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres, I re-read Nova, to which Spectres is the sequel; and before sitting down to script the Farscape comic book, I not only re-watched the entire series, but I also re-read my 2001 novel House of Cards and my two short stories in Farscape: The Official Magazine.
I don't really say "What if?" in relation to my stories, but given the opportunity I'd take another crack at "Performance Appraisal."
The only story of mine I find difficult to revisit is "Make-Believe." I wouldn't do the story differently, but writing it left emotional scars.
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