Read to Write

Read.

That is all I ask you to do today.

Just read.

Why?

Because this is one of the biggest ways to become a better writer.

Read.

That is how you learn what makes a good book.

So grab a book nearby and I'll tell you what you should do.

1. Enjoy the book. 2. Figure out why you enjoyed it.

Reading is sometimes a hit or miss game. Books are sometimes good and sometimes bad. But both are beneficial.

When approaching a book, read it like a reader the first time.

Take in the story. Fall in love with the characters. Connect with it.

Read it like any other person would. Enjoy it.

After you’re finished, or if it’s really not that good and you can’t finish it, ask yourself some questions.

Was it a good book? Did you feel drawn to read the next word on the page? Did you connect with the characters? Or was the book bad? Was it hard to read? Did you struggle to take in the next word on the page?

Now ask yourself why.

Why was the book good or bad?

If the book was good, ask yourself what made it good. How did the author make it good? Was the plot line good? Was the actual writing good?

If you connected with the book, figure out why. Figure out what that author did to make you connect to it. How did they bring the words alive?

What if the book was bad?

Ask yourself the same questions. Why was it bad? What did the author do that made a total disconnect with you? Were the characters boring? Rude? Unlikable? Flat? Maybe the plot was off. Maybe the writing was good, but you just couldn’t follow the storyline. Or maybe the opposite. Maybe the author had a fantastic story and just lacked the fantastic writing to go along with it.

Think about all of this. It is the most helpful tool as a writer.

This is how you learn and grow your own writing by using others' work as examples.

What’s the next step?

Was there anything the book needed more or less of?

Think through it and find a scene or something the author could’ve described in more detail, or added more of. Maybe there was too much action and there needed to be more humor to break it up. Maybe while describing a scene the author didn’t paint a full picture and you wish they did. Maybe they just needed to go into less detail about the stain on a character's blouse.

Hopefully, nobody needs to do less of that...

Anyway, you get the picture.

When you’re reading, you can figure out what you like that the author did and what you don’t. Then, take that knowledge and remember it while you're writing your own book.

If you wished there was more or less of something, there's a good chance others would feel that way as well.

Remember what the author did that you didn't like or what they could've elaborated on. Take that and use it to avoid making the same mistakes in your own work.

Why? What is the importance of reading?

Think about it.

Everyone reading your work is a reader. They are taking in what you’ve written just as you are with any book you read.

I speak from experience when I say I know it’s really hard to figure out if your work will pull someone in or spit them out like a watermelon seed. I mean, if you’ve written it and you literally know everything that happens—every word a character is going to say and the exact movement they will make next—there’s no build. No plot twists or development happen in your mind because you’ve already gotten to point B without having to go through point A.

When you read other's writing and figure out what is so good about it, you can then apply it to your own writing.

Let’s say you read a book you absolutely loved. Just everything about it was amazing. The characters grabbed you and pulled you into their world, making sure that you would never be the same again after you left. The writing flowed so smoothly that you forgot you were even reading a book and weren't right there in the character's life, watching everything unfold before you.

Take what you loved about that book, the writing aspects of it that were really amazing, and apply it to your own work.

If you realize it's beneficial in action scenes to weave more important things into them or add humor, make sure to remember that. If you find that there’s a scene where you really wish you’d known what the character was wearing, remember that. And then, when you’re writing, take what you like to read into account.

Do the same thing with the bad.

If you realize that the characters were too flat, that their attitudes, actions, and words seemed almost scripted, remember that. If you find that the author continuously used too much description, taking paragraphs and paragraphs up with words that really only dragged on and on and turned you off from reading it, remember that. Then, while writing, take those things into account and try to avoid them.

For me, a lot of what I’ve learned is by reading.

Most people know this about me but I am an avid reader. Give me a good mystery on a rainy day and I’ll have it read within around 5 hours—if I have the time, that is.

But we’re not here to talk about my possibly unhealthy obsession with literature.

I’m trying to tell you guys that reading is one of the best ways to learn.

A good way to start:

If you already love reading, which a lot of writers do, find one of your favorite books. You’ve read it many times. You probably know the plot like the back of your hand. You might even have the dialogue of some scenes memorized.

Take that book. Read it. And read it with a writer’s mindset. You know you love the story, but why? Why do you love it? It can’t just be because you love the genre. There has to be something in the way the author writes that pulls you in.

Now, it’s not like a blatant thing in bright shining lights screaming, “This is why you love the book!” In fact, there’s usually not a single reason.

Instead, many small things that make up the book are usually what is loved so much.

Maybe there’s just a certain way the author writes their characters that make them feel real. Maybe they balance actions and dialogue well.

Maybe there’s a single scene that has a line in it that you look at and just say, “Wow. That’s good writing.”

I don’t know what you’ll find. You tell me.

But I do know this. To write well, you have to read.

Sure, you can write without reading, although I don’t see the huge draw to it for someone who is not fond of books.

But it is so much harder to write well if you can’t read any examples of that.

You can't learn or grow your skill without reading.

Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you are doing well and that you learned something today! If you have any questions, shoot me a message in the contact box below.

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn