Behind the scenes

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Reading with a writer's eye: The Dragonlance Saga

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Photo by Janko Ferlic from Pexels

Photo by Janko Ferlic from Pexels

I recently decided to start reading the Dragonlance saga again. I haven’t read it in a long time, but when I was a teenager they were some of my favorite books to read and I happened to spot some in the local book store and decided to pick them up. I’m glad I did, because they are harder to find now, but also because I was surprised at how much I enjoy reading the books again. It makes me regret selling my original copies.

However what’s really fascinating for me is that I’m reading these book with what I would call my writer’s eye. My writer’s eye is that perspective of an author, where I’m learning more about my own craft as a writer as a result of reading other writers. I don’t think you can be a good writer, if you aren’t also reading and ideally you are reading something of what you write.

As I read the Dragonlance saga again, what I appreciate is how each character is fleshed out. The authors clearly know the characters and are comfortable enough to let those characters speak through the text, while still telling the story. I like how the authors use the third person narrative to give you a glimpse of each character’s perspective and thoughts.

When you read a book with a writer’s eye, you appreciate the book, but you also ask yourself what you can learn from it. For me, it’s case of continuing to improve action scenes and providing the perspective of the character, while also letting the character speak through the text to the reader. I want my characters to be alive to my readers. When I read the Dragonlance saga, the characters come alive. They linger on long after I’ve stopped reading the text, and they are waiting for the next time I read the text.