To Write, You Must Read
If you have followed any author, at some point, you’ve probably been told that you need to read. I’ve seen a lot of authors say that their biggest writing trick is reading. I have seen other writers say that what helped them most in writing was picking up a book and reading it. I’ve been so fascinated with writing for so long that I feel like I’ve been studying it my whole life. I was studying writing long before I started my writing degree.
How though? How have I been studying writing for so long? Yes, I’ve been writing since I was a kid, I’ve talked about that before on my website. I’ve also been reading, avidly, since I was a kid. Book fairs were my favorite holiday in school and I would spend all my money on books and bypass the funky pencils and erasers. I would always be in the library at school trying to read more books. I used to go to the bookstore every single week with my mom and I usually ended up with a book. I remember the first author event I went to was when I was a kid. This author duo came to my school and did an assembly, mentioned they would be at Borders (oh my gosh, who remembers Borders!?) that night doing a book signing. I went home and begged my parents to take me. I got them to take me right before the event was over, I was able to get my book and have it signed right as they were closing up. I don’t have that book anymore but I have plenty of others from meeting authors and getting books signed. That was just the first taste.
You cannot write if you are not reading. These are two skills and disciplines that go hand in hand. Reading is like writing apprenticeship. The cool part is that we get to pick and choose who we learn from every single time we go to pick out a new book. Think of any modern trade, most of the time you can find someone (an expert) to teach you the ways and the skills needed to become an expert in that trade. The same is true for writing. We have access to decades and decades of books. We have access to the great writers of different eras. I just recently bought a book by Aristotle. We have access to the writings of so many people who have been deemed great writers. If anything, learning how to write effectively and with purpose should be one of the easiest skills to learn. You start by picking up a book. You start by reading a book. You start by analyzing and digging deeper. You don’t even need money to pay upfront for school or for an expert to train you. Libraries are filled with books that you can borrow for free. I’ve also seen a lot of libraries have creative writing workshops. Studying writing isn’t complex or even that hard. You just have to read. You will become a better writer as you read and write more. It goes hand in hand. Now, there are benefits in pursuing coaching and other paid avenues to improve your writing, but you can start simply. You can accomplish big writing things without dropping a bunch of money.
But friends, while the start of writing can be simple, we are fighting a giant battle. AI is making writing seem like a useless skill that is better left to robots and smart technologies. Publishers, in an attempt to ensure money flow and money making opportunities, are taking on authors who have big followings (big followings and high engagement = guaranteed buyers or the idea of a percentage of those followers being guaranteed buyers) that have terrible writing skills. If the writing skills aren’t terrible, the story idea is. You can have terrible writing that is fixed into decent writing in editing but you cannot fix terrible story ideas or plot holes or lack of character development. Which I have been seeing running rampant in novels lately. Traditionally published and self-published, I don’t believe one industry has done the publishing game better than the other lately. There have been terrible books published on both sides. The truth is though, everybody just wants to make money. Now, there’s the whole “using AI to make books and sell them on Amazon cheap” thing going on.
We have to demand better than that from people who write. There are a lot of people out there who don’t write but they do read. If we want to be writers we should be advocating for writing done right so that those readers are not disappointed. Writers, our stories need to be told, but we shouldn’t tell terrible quality stories take our places because we’re afraid to write our stories. If you’re a reader, you should be demanding better quality books. If you’re a writer, you should be honing your craft and skill in order to write quality stories.
In order to craft quality stories, you need to study writing. The best way to study writing is by reading.
Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash