Why Writers Should Read
~ Do you write? Do you read? ~
You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so. It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true. If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but “didn’t have time to read,” I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life.
Stephen King On Writing
I Love to Read. Do You?
Reading is one of my greatest pleasures. If I had my way, I would spend many hours a day immersed in a book. For this reason, being a professional writer makes perfect sense for me. To be a successful writer, I can justify my hours reading as a job essential.
Next time someone questions why you have books stacked from floor to ceiling, or why you are too busy reading to pay a social call, use one of these delicious excuses.
Why Writers Should Read
- To be inspired
- To absorb literary language
- To learn new words
- To develop empathy through identification with characters who are not like you
- To keep your brain active
- To escape your everyday world
- To become a better reader
- To find writers you love.
- To support fellow writers
How Writers Should Read
Okay. So now you have explained those piles of books. But how should you approach them as a writer?
- Read for structural ideas
- Read to discover what will excite readers
- Read to analyze structure, character, and plot
- Read to study the voice and pacing of different authors
- Read to see what works and what doesn’t in storytelling
- Read to see how theme and motif can be expressed
- Read to discover writers who write like you do. and those who don’t
- Read to see what writing techniques work and what ones don’t
- Read to find comparables to use in your query
What Writers Should Read
Do you tend to read the same kinds of books all the time? Branch out and try some of these.
- Genres and styles you write in
- Genres and styles you don’t write in
- Books set in places you write about
- Books set in places you have never been
- Nonfiction books about writing
- Nonfiction books about self-actualization
- Books about marketing and running a business
AND…
- Stephen King’s On Writing – the book every writer must read!
More on Reading and Writing
What Makes You Want to Read a Book?
I love to read, but not during National Writing Month
The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing… Constant reading will pull you into a place… where you can write eagerly and without self-consciousness.
Stephen King On Writing
I totally agree with you, Zara! As a writer, I love to escape into another book that is not my own. I need to “quiet” the voices in my head and reading helps me to escape. I love learning new words and seeing new voices. Currently, I’m reading two romance books (one a vampire and the other a western), a non-fiction book on the Vikings and another on 101 Things to do with Olive Oil. Great post!
By the way, I forgot to mention that writers must also read magazines. I couldn’t exist with out the poetry and short stories in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Harpers. I also read a flash fiction story every day courtesy of Every Day Fiction https://www.patreon.com/everydayfiction
Excellent point! Flash fiction seems doable as a reading goal! I’ve written more magazine articles than novels, that’s for sure. 🙂 Getting there!
Christa, everything you say is so true. Thank you for giving examples of how books you have read have made you a better write.I too wonder how audiobooks will affect use as writers.
I definitely agree about reading a lot, and widely! The whole reason I write is to spark others’ imaginations, and the thing I love best about reading is when other writers spark my imagination. Characters, for an example from one of your recent books, down by the seashore studying the sea floor (with so much feistiness!) can stay in our hearts, minds, and consciousness for a long time. They become real people, both when we share their joys and when we share their sorrows or frustration at their behaviour.
I love books with innovative formats, such as the Princess Bride, and innovative quirks. Jude Devereaux started the tradition of a little jump through time to find a hero from the past and I guess I got hooked on that, as a writer, for the moment… I love books with surprises in them. Now we might expect time travel, but what other surprises can writers pop in their books? Dragons? The historical periods you are writing about offer readers many surprises from real life that a lot don’t know about, too.
I guess I’m saying: I read to be surprised and delighted, but I definitely agree with you about studying the structure and methods too. Any new writer wanting to break in definitely needs to study that, and the best way to study it is to devour books!
I devour most of my books by audiobooks these days, and it’s probably not as good for my writing. Interesting to wonder about that!
Christa