That’s a lie, of course. I read my writing all the time, when I’m editing it. I don’t get to read it like you do, though. I never get to sit down and take it in without expectations. I’m always tweaking, testing, fixing mistakes. That’s not the same.
Did you know that I’ve never sat down and read my own book? It’s an odd feeling, to spend so much time on a thing but not see it in the way others will. Understandable, perhaps, but odd. After all, it’s hard for me to read it without finding things I want to fix.
I feel like this is something I need to work on. There have been times I’ve missed the forest for the trees, when I’ve left big, gaping holes in my story because I never stepped far enough back to take in the whole thing. I need to slow down, read through the whole thing without making changes, and look for the big stuff.
Writers don’t read their own work like readers do. We read them like writers. We need to be able to read like both though, to see what you see, because that’s the most important view of all.
