It’s a Matter of Inspiration

In a new interview with the British Webmag Shots, novelist Harlan Coben (Promise Me) pooh-poohs the conventional wisdom that authors shouldn’t read other works that are similar to what they themselves are writing:

I like to read crime fiction. I know a lot of authors who don’t read in their fields of work, and especially when writing a novel, because they feel that they might somehow be influenced by what they’re reading. At this stage of my career, I feel my writing voice is my own, which may not have been the case when I started. I’ve just finished Philip Roth’s Everyman and I loved it because it so depressing, but so beautifully written, but I don’t so much get influenced by other writers as inspired. In the past a book might have touched me enough so I might have just curled up into a ball and cried. Now I find that if I’ve read something that great, I want to up my own game. It’s not just with novels either; a new [Bruce] Springsteen CD, a movie or a work of art might do it, too. I especially like the books of emergence. The ones you take on holiday that beg you to stay in your hotel room to finish.

You can read the whole interview here.