To Be A Better Writer - You Need To Be A Better Reader

One of my favorite things to talk to writers about will always be their favorite books, their favorite genres, which authors inspire them and which would they most like to be like. 

Very rarely do I ever come across a writer who tells me that they don't like to read or that they don't have the time to read. 

Sure there are always the writers who say they don't have as much time to read as they like to, but they sneak it in when they can.

Reading and writing go hand in hand and this goes for writers on all levels from those just starting and putting words to the page for the very first time to the well-seasoned professional who has a few books of their own lining their shelves. 

Reading is an essential part of being a writer and here are a few reasons why. 

Learning From Masters 

Anyone who tries to say that you can't teach writing is ignoring that there is probably a writing teacher sitting on the corner of their bedside table at this very moment. 

Sounds a bit creepy when you put it like that, but it's true. 

Anything and everything you need to know about writing is found in the pages of a book. Structure, character development, prose, pacing, and dialogue can all be learned through their stories. 

No, you don't have to sit there with a pen and paper, markers, and colorful tabs and analyze every sentence in the book to be able to learn it either. It just comes naturally through reading. 

The more you read the more effortlessly you'll be able to mimic the strengths these novels hold in your own way. 

Creative Inspiration 

Have you ever read a novel that sparked the idea of "but what if this had happened instead?" 

Sometimes that's how the best novels are born, inspired by another work. 

Every writer has done it at some point. Just look at some of the biggest novels that are out on the shelves today and you'll find that those authors were inspired by the works of others. 

No, you shouldn't be stealing scenes or characters or anything from these books, but let them inspire your own creative mind to find a new story that's all your own. 

How To Make The Most Of What You Read

• Read Anything and Everything: What you read doesn't have to be in your genre or even in the same age group. There are lessons to be learned in all types of novels that you can apply back to your own. Reading wildly will provide you with a broad education you can apply back to your novel no matter what genre it is. 
• Try Reflective Reading: No you don't have to sit there and write an essay about the books that you have read, but when you turn that final page take a few minutes to think about what it was that kept you reading page after page. What parts of the story dragged or almost had you putting it away? 

Sure you can be a writer without being a reader, but why would you want to be? 

Books are free writing classes (if the books come from your local library or were gifts from friends and family.) Books are the windows to new worlds, new ideas, and new ways of thinking. Books are the bridge between you and things you may never have the chance to experience in your lifetime. 

And if they have the ability to make you a better writer? Why wouldn't you want that? 

Go out and find a book to cozy up with today. 

With love, 

B.K xo xo

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