From the feedback I received from agents about my first novel, I decided I was a good writer but I was lacking that last bit of whatever needed to make my novels publishable. Writing advice books weren't saying anything new, so I decided on another route to learn what I'm missing. I've decided to spend time reading a lot of novels (2 per week) of a variety of different genre.
I'll read mystery/suspense/thrillers in search of ones that make my heart pound and compelled me to read more to know what happened next. The ones that succeeded, I'll study to identify what the author did to create that suspense. The ones that didn't, I'll try to identify why they failed.
I'll read historical novels to discover how much detail is good, what type of detail creates a sense that this story really happened, and what just bogs the story down or gets skimmed over.
I'll read to discover how to engage the reader's emotions--how to make them feel what the characters are going through even if the reader isn't like that character in personality or values or even if a character didn't start out very likable.
And so on.
We'll see what I can learn.
