bad habits part 104(a)

At the moment I'm reading Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.

That's not the bad habit.

Rebecca is a first-person narrative. An excellent example thereof. And here I am, reading it, while trying to write a first-person narrative.

Right there, that's the bad habit.

One day I will learn not to read examples of excellent prosecraft while I'm writing something comparable¹. Later is okay, later means I can go back and revise. Before is even better, before means I can study and practise. But during?

No. No, that won't do at all.

1. Yes, I realise this means I should read nothing while writing, since almost everything is comparable in some way, however tenuous. That is precisely why I haven't learnt this trick yet. [↩]