Reader’s Block – Open Book Blog Hop #196

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

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Topic #196
We’ve talked about writer’s block.
Have you ever gotten reader’s block?

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Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. We appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Growing up, I read a lot of books. Reading was as common to me as watching television. If I didn’t have a book in hand, I probably had just finished one. Blessed with a scholastic subscription and parents who encouraged reading and learning, books were never in short supply. They were exciting and I thought I would never get enough of them. 

But, I was wrong. 

Or rather, things have changed to make reading less of a priority to me. That would have frightened me at one time, but my life is so full I hardly have time to notice. What spare time I do have, I spend writing in one form or another. That said, when I went to graduate school, I was tasked with reading quite a bit. Those books were mighty interesting, but not the wondrous exciting I once enjoyed, but that is the way of non-fiction, for the most part. It’s just a different kind of reading. 

When I did my studies, I noticed an uptick in my creativity. This happened before, with undergrad and other training. When I read, I find I want to write more. But, when I write and work more, I find I don’t want to read. That’s likely due to the strain. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious is a real damper for creativity. 

I don’t see much of a solution, other than finding ways to reduce stress and anxiety, but that’s not so easily achieved. Modern life is fast-paced, and stress-riden. That’s just how things are. 

This is why I suggest that writers not schedule time to write every day. They’ll need time to relax; time to recharge. A great way to do this is reading. But, what if reading causes greater stress? More specifically, what if the act of reading itself causes someone stress? 

Imagine a person who loves to read becoming an aspiring author, but they meet with constant resistance to their dream of publishing. Would picking up a book be the same joy anymore? What if those books were disappointing—riddled with errors and other annoying issues? What if the book selected reminded that writer of all the reasons they want to be published, but offered none of the reasons why they aren’t? Reading would be a chore and a reminder of that yet unachieved goal. Should that continue for a substantial stretch of time, interest in reading would just wane to nothing. But, would the desire to read return? 

For me, I went through the above for quite some time. The desire to read is there, but the reminders of the struggle of writing come with the books. It takes on more of a work aspect than a leisure activity. Mixed with being tired from a regular job and caring for a toddler, I simply just feel blocked from reading. Hopefully, I will be able to enjoy books again one day. 

Click on one of the links below to see what the other authors have to say about reader’s block. 

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