Reading leads to writing

I just finished a book. I don't know where I found the time, but I did. And it was great. My love affair with writing began when I learned to read. This particular book (Doomsday Book by Connie Willis) has sparked again my love for the whole idea of writing. It's an amazing thing how that happens.

Doomsday Book isn't the kind of book I would write. It's kind of sci-fi with future elements and time travel. It's also something like 500 pages. Immense! But so rewarding as a reader. She created two very distinct worlds and drew me in to them both. She never gave a huge exposition about what makes her world so special or different from anything else. She just told her story and let me fill in all the pieces. It was so refreshing to not have to sift through all the world building stuff you get when you read something like, for instance, David Eddings. (Don't get me wrong. I loved David Eddings' books as a teenager. He just goes into great detail about everything.) Reading Doomsday, I found it so easy to just sink into the people and places.

And I found a desire to write like that. Probably not as long. Heavens, I would probably shoot myself before I got through a complete edit. But to have that easy, flowing way of telling the story. That is what I want to do. (It also wouldn't hurt to win a Hugo or Nebula award. That would be pretty cool.)

So, now I have a new goal for my editing. Bring a better flow. Tell less. Show more. And I have a great example of how to do that. I just have to take for granted that people will understand my world. And chances are, they will.