I can't afford to get distracted by reading other stories. I don't know about you, Man, but I hold all these conversations and plot threads in my head while I'm writing, and they are on a loop with me constantly fine tuning them, turning them over and over to look for flaws. I can do it while I'm doing chores like mowing or watering or laundry or picking up supplies and such, but reading tends to muck the process up. I wrote an intense chapter yesterday, and it was all I thought about the last week or so... and the next will be just as tricky... maybe even more so. Cheers!