TO READ OR NOT TO READ?

We live in a world where everything is becoming more and more litigious. Musicians are sued for plagiarism, even if the similarity extends to only a few notes. Obscure writers claim that a big-name novelist has obviously chanced upon their decades-old, out-of-print work of genius and stolen the plot. It’s no surprise that you read of creative people saying that they shut themselves off from anything that could influence them in case a musical or literary phrase seeps into their creations.

But how does that work in practice? I imagine it must be like sealing yourself off in a creative vacuum. And, if I proceed with that analogy, you might run out of creative air. I know I would. Perhaps others are made of sterner stuff.

Whenever I think of any creative medium – music, art, literature, drama or documentary, landscape gardening, architecture – immersing myself in it sparks emotions and inspiration. Just as one’s life experiences shapes our perspective, so does the creative world in all its forms.

I can’t imagine denying myself those pleasures just to ensure I will not lift someone else’s work, even unconsciously. The chances of that happening are minute, I’ve decided. I’m willing to take the risk.

I believe that reading as much fiction as you can is not only a source of enjoyment but also of learning. You soak up the art of storytelling. Most of the time I am immersed in the page, but often when I’m thinking about the book later I marvel at a story arc, a description or something seemingly inconsequential that has been placed so artfully in an early chapter that has a huge impact later on. I think about the book as a whole, and how that story has been laid out, whether the characters have been brought to life to show flaws as well as virtues, and how much setting – place or time – plays its part.

So I’m going to carry on reading and writing. It works for me. It might not work for you. Each to their own.