Reading about writing

I started a new book and was feeling a little guilty about taking time away from writing. I knew I had extra time but kept pulling out the book instead of sitting myself down to get some words written. I actually downloaded it to my eReader and have been using my mini-acer to read. It is taking some getting used to and I don’t think the mini will work as well outside but for now it isn’t too bad. Besides, I had run out of books and I was able to download and start reading right away as opposed to making a dash to the bookstore during a lunch hour and then trying to figure out what I was going to get. I was able to shop on-line and save the time and trip this time around.
I picked up (or I should say downloaded) Dean Koontz, Relentless. If you are not familiar with Dean Koontz he writes in the horror genre like Stephen King or Peter Straub. I haven’t read so much Stephen King but Peter Straub was always good for a thrill. Koontz has a way of pulling you into his story so you believe the weird stuff going on in a regular setting as it actually happens. I learned from experience that you can’t really try to explain the book to someone else because it seems to fall apart as you explain. It makes sense and is totally believable when you are reading the story. It is thoroughly engaging and has so much movement and action, along with a grounded sense to make it credible, not to mention a dry humor that I particularly enjoy.  It just doesn't come out that way when you try to explain it to someone else.  They will look at you side-ways and you can tell they are wondering what the heck is wrong with you.
So when I tell you the book Relentless is about an author that get’s a bad review from an acclaimed critic it doesn’t sound so bad. It turns out this critic is a serial killer that is after the author and his family and, of course, you don’t believe that at first but when he appears in the authors bedroom at 4:00am and tazers him and his wife… This was approximately on page 58, Chapter Ten, when in total darkness the author can sense the critic in the bedroom. All the power has been shut down and the flashlight in the nightstand is missing. He thinks…"I realized in my desperation, I thought I could plot the scene as if I were writing fiction…I had missed something…"
But then Koontz throws this paragraph in:
"This happens often when writing fiction. Outlines are a waste of time. If you give your characters free will, they will grow in ways you never anticipated, and they will take the story places you could not have predicted, raising themes you might or might not have intended to explore. Characters shape events; events illuminate the characters. The people in a story begin as seeds, become buds, and blossom in ways that surprise the author, precisely as real people frequently surprise him with their intentions and capacities."
I suddenly wasn’t feeling guilty about reading a book instead of writing. If I hadn’t taken the time to pick up this book and read I wouldn’t have come across a reaffirmation of writing that I felt this author just wanted to put out there. What a great morsel of information from such a prolifically published author and all hidden away in the pages of a horror novel.
Who would have guessed on Chapter 10, approximately page 58 I would have gotten writing advise while feeling guilty about reading a book when I should have been writing?
There is nothing wrong with doing both and sometimes it's definitely more than worth the time.
TT