Reading to Write and Writing to Read

“Reading—the good and the bad—inspires you. It develops your palate for all the tricks that writers have invented over the years. You can learn from textbooks about the writing craft, but there’s no substitute for discovering for yourself how a writer pulls off a trick. Then that becomes part of your experience.” – Roz Morris

There are two things writers can do to get better: write more and read more. More writing is an obvious one, since practice makes perfect. But writing without expanding our knowledge won’t do us any good. You can write all day (and you should) but without broadening your toolbox (a concept introduced by Stephen King in On Writing) you will be constantly stuck at the same writing level and you’ll never get any better. How do writers build their toolboxes or repertoires? They read!

Reading expose us to other styles, other voices, other forms, and other genres of writing. Most importantly, it exposes us to writing that’s better than our own and helps us to improve. And then if it doesn’t expose us to writing that’s better, it exposes us to writing that’s worse and that can be even more helpful sometimes. Seeing someone’s writing that may not be up to par with what you’re used to recognizing as “good” will help you clearly define what not to do and that is just as important.

Writers learn from reading how to become better writers. Stephen King said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” That’s a powerful statement because of its relevance and veracity. Lots of people will say they don’t have time for reading, but the truth is you don’t have to read a whole novel to discover talent or lack thereof in an author’s writing—although it’s very possible, if you’re like me, that once you start you won’t be able to stop. 

The other truth is that you have to carve out time to read, good things and bad things and periodicals and novels and articles and the like. You have to have time to read any and everything in order to become a good writer, a better writer. It’s important for expanding your vocabulary, your knowledge of grammar and how to use it effectively, and it’s important for developing ideas and concepts and to be able to deliver those ideas competently and energetically.