Beta reading and proofreading have affected how I read for pleasure in a positive way.  Reading for work and pleasure used to be two distinct things, but the more work I’ve undertaken it has naturally infused into how I read for pleasure. One informs the other.

Fundamentally, it helps to put into practice the techniques and knowledge I’ve learnt through writing craft books and courses. As someone who has always been an analytical reader, these caused me to pay closer attention to the mechanics of the prose, such as sentence structure and to question why something is effective or particularly resonates with me.

If I’m working on a particular genre, I’ll read a book from a different genre for pleasure. This also means that I’m reading a wider variety of genres and can see how they use different narrative techniques, pacing and punctuation which I can use to inform my own work.

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