Be a Better Writer--BE A BETTER READER
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 10:24 am
I’ve been rendered speechless a few times over my several years here at FaithWriters when I’ve read different people on the forums say something along the line of “I don’t read for enjoyment,” or even worse, “I don’t read much at all.” What would you think if you heard a would-be chef say, “I don’t care much for food, and I never taste new things. Peanut butter and jelly is just fine for me.” Or if an aspiring artist said, “I’ve never been to an art museum, and I don’t want to look at other artists’ work. I’m just going to keep putting paint on canvas the way that someone once told me was pretty.” Or what if a promising musician said, “I don’t listen to music very often, but when I do, I only listen to harmonica music. It’s the only kind of music I enjoy.”
These are all absurd examples—but all of those ridiculous people want to achieve in fields that, like writing, require a blend of natural talent, creativity, and training of specific skills. You can learn those skills in several ways: a class, a mentor, a critique group—but one of the best ways is to read. To read a lot. To read many different kinds of writing. To read writing by the best writers. And to read like a writer.
So let me elaborate on each of those points a bit.
1. People who want to be good writers should read a lot of books.
Recent polls have shown that the average American only reads six books a year (sorry, non-Americans—I don’t know about you). That’s not nearly enough reading! This article gives 10 advantages to reading; the ones that should particularly interest writers are knowledge, vocabulary expansion, and improved writing skills. Read the article for more on those points.
This article expands on that list: check out the explanations for #4, 8, 10, and 16.
I won’t attempt to re-write those very excellent articles, but I strongly advise that you read at least one of them.
2. People who want to be good writers should read many different kinds of writing.
Let me expand on one of the examples I gave in the first paragraph. An aspiring chef becomes better as she is exposed to more and more cooking styles and international cuisines. Similarly, the aspiring writer will get better as she reads more diverse writing styles and genres.
Some on this site have said they only read Christian books. That irks me a bit—they are limiting themselves by not reading the great diversity of literature available to them. I totally understand that some people are bothered by certain content, and I won’t ask people to do something that makes them uncomfortable. However, there are good books—even great books—without objectionable content, in every genre. And if you’re a person who can read edgier material, you’re missing out on some fantastic voyages if you limit yourself to only one genre or to only Christian writing.
There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite genre—I just urge you to read outside of your comfort zone every now and then. You may find something new that really appeals to you. You may read a new writing style or voice that stretches you or inspires you to try something new.
Here’s a good list of books to get you started.
Here’s another one.
And one more.
I found those by Googling “100 best books,” and you’ll find several more similar lists if you do the same. Or if you’re interested in expanding to just one unfamiliar genre at a time, try Googling “best _____ books” where you fill in the blank with one of these genres:
Classic
Coming of age
Contemporary
Crime/Detective
Fantasy
Historical fiction
Humor
Literary fiction
Magical realism
Mystery
Realistic fiction
Romance
Science fiction
Suspense/Thriller
Western
Young Adult
There are many other genres, some of which overlap with the ones listed here. Make it a goal to read at least one book from each genre, perhaps within the next year.
3. People who want to be good writers should read works by the best writers.
Of course, “the best writers” is pretty subjective—how do you know if something you’re reading is by one of the best?
First, choose books that have stood the test of time—books that are considered classics. You’ll recognize the titles of those books; perhaps you’ve even thought, I should read that book. I’ve heard a lot about it. If it’s a book that’s made it onto the high school or college reading lists, or lists like those I’ve linked to above, that’s a pretty good indication.
The best non-classic books have generally positive reviews—but this comes with a caveat. Reviews on sites like Amazon or GoodReads aren’t necessarily true to the quality of the book. Many writers ask their friends and family to leave positive reviews on those sites, and unfortunately, some writers even pay for positive reviews. In general, the more reviews a book has, the more likely that some of them are from impartial readers. But to be sure, check to see if a book has been reviewed by a major periodical or by well-known writers in that same genre.
If a writer has several other published titles, there’s a better chance that he’s a good writer. And speaking of published…unfortunately, since it’s so easy to publish these days, there’s an awful lot of bad writing out there. In general—if it’s been published by a legitimate publishing company (not a vanity press) or self-published, it’s more likely to be worthy writing. I’m NOT saying that everything self-published is bad writing or that everything traditionally published is good writing; that’s absolutely not the case. However, the odds are that you’re more likely to find excellent writing among books that are traditionally published.
Now that I’ve thoroughly trampled on the toes of some of you:
4. People who want to be good writers read like a writer.
When I’m reading a really good book, sometimes I read it in one setting, even far into the night, because I’m so caught up by the characters and the plot. The last thing I want to do is to analyze the author’s writing style or to ask myself, what makes this book so successful?
But that sort of analysis is a way that you can teach yourself excellent writing. You might wait until the second time through a book, but when you’ve got some wonderful writing in front of you, ask some of the following questions:
• How did this writer use (voice, tone, vocabulary, pacing, sentence structure, etc.) to tell his story effectively?
• What made me stop and re-read that paragraph? What made it so good?
• This sentence seemed to break a rule. Why did the writer do that? What made it work?
• Why do I care about this character?
• Why was that sentence so long? Why was that chapter so short? Why did the writer include (that event, that description, that character)? Why did the writer not include this description or detail?
That’s just a sample of the kinds of questions that an analytical reader might ask in order to better understand good writing.
HOMEWORK:
1. Are you a reader? If not, why not?
2. Respond to one or more of the numbered points above. Disagreeing with me is fine—I can take it. Let’s have a discussion!
3. Do you have anything to add on the benefits of reading?
These are all absurd examples—but all of those ridiculous people want to achieve in fields that, like writing, require a blend of natural talent, creativity, and training of specific skills. You can learn those skills in several ways: a class, a mentor, a critique group—but one of the best ways is to read. To read a lot. To read many different kinds of writing. To read writing by the best writers. And to read like a writer.
So let me elaborate on each of those points a bit.
1. People who want to be good writers should read a lot of books.
Recent polls have shown that the average American only reads six books a year (sorry, non-Americans—I don’t know about you). That’s not nearly enough reading! This article gives 10 advantages to reading; the ones that should particularly interest writers are knowledge, vocabulary expansion, and improved writing skills. Read the article for more on those points.
This article expands on that list: check out the explanations for #4, 8, 10, and 16.
I won’t attempt to re-write those very excellent articles, but I strongly advise that you read at least one of them.
2. People who want to be good writers should read many different kinds of writing.
Let me expand on one of the examples I gave in the first paragraph. An aspiring chef becomes better as she is exposed to more and more cooking styles and international cuisines. Similarly, the aspiring writer will get better as she reads more diverse writing styles and genres.
Some on this site have said they only read Christian books. That irks me a bit—they are limiting themselves by not reading the great diversity of literature available to them. I totally understand that some people are bothered by certain content, and I won’t ask people to do something that makes them uncomfortable. However, there are good books—even great books—without objectionable content, in every genre. And if you’re a person who can read edgier material, you’re missing out on some fantastic voyages if you limit yourself to only one genre or to only Christian writing.
There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite genre—I just urge you to read outside of your comfort zone every now and then. You may find something new that really appeals to you. You may read a new writing style or voice that stretches you or inspires you to try something new.
Here’s a good list of books to get you started.
Here’s another one.
And one more.
I found those by Googling “100 best books,” and you’ll find several more similar lists if you do the same. Or if you’re interested in expanding to just one unfamiliar genre at a time, try Googling “best _____ books” where you fill in the blank with one of these genres:
Classic
Coming of age
Contemporary
Crime/Detective
Fantasy
Historical fiction
Humor
Literary fiction
Magical realism
Mystery
Realistic fiction
Romance
Science fiction
Suspense/Thriller
Western
Young Adult
There are many other genres, some of which overlap with the ones listed here. Make it a goal to read at least one book from each genre, perhaps within the next year.
3. People who want to be good writers should read works by the best writers.
Of course, “the best writers” is pretty subjective—how do you know if something you’re reading is by one of the best?
First, choose books that have stood the test of time—books that are considered classics. You’ll recognize the titles of those books; perhaps you’ve even thought, I should read that book. I’ve heard a lot about it. If it’s a book that’s made it onto the high school or college reading lists, or lists like those I’ve linked to above, that’s a pretty good indication.
The best non-classic books have generally positive reviews—but this comes with a caveat. Reviews on sites like Amazon or GoodReads aren’t necessarily true to the quality of the book. Many writers ask their friends and family to leave positive reviews on those sites, and unfortunately, some writers even pay for positive reviews. In general, the more reviews a book has, the more likely that some of them are from impartial readers. But to be sure, check to see if a book has been reviewed by a major periodical or by well-known writers in that same genre.
If a writer has several other published titles, there’s a better chance that he’s a good writer. And speaking of published…unfortunately, since it’s so easy to publish these days, there’s an awful lot of bad writing out there. In general—if it’s been published by a legitimate publishing company (not a vanity press) or self-published, it’s more likely to be worthy writing. I’m NOT saying that everything self-published is bad writing or that everything traditionally published is good writing; that’s absolutely not the case. However, the odds are that you’re more likely to find excellent writing among books that are traditionally published.
Now that I’ve thoroughly trampled on the toes of some of you:
4. People who want to be good writers read like a writer.
When I’m reading a really good book, sometimes I read it in one setting, even far into the night, because I’m so caught up by the characters and the plot. The last thing I want to do is to analyze the author’s writing style or to ask myself, what makes this book so successful?
But that sort of analysis is a way that you can teach yourself excellent writing. You might wait until the second time through a book, but when you’ve got some wonderful writing in front of you, ask some of the following questions:
• How did this writer use (voice, tone, vocabulary, pacing, sentence structure, etc.) to tell his story effectively?
• What made me stop and re-read that paragraph? What made it so good?
• This sentence seemed to break a rule. Why did the writer do that? What made it work?
• Why do I care about this character?
• Why was that sentence so long? Why was that chapter so short? Why did the writer include (that event, that description, that character)? Why did the writer not include this description or detail?
That’s just a sample of the kinds of questions that an analytical reader might ask in order to better understand good writing.
HOMEWORK:
1. Are you a reader? If not, why not?
2. Respond to one or more of the numbered points above. Disagreeing with me is fine—I can take it. Let’s have a discussion!
3. Do you have anything to add on the benefits of reading?