Read To Lead

I Have A Need. A Need For Read…ing

What’s the best thing you can do to become a better writer? Pay for a class? Attend a seminar? Hammer at your keyboard with the impotent rage of a frustrated chimp?

No, while they may help (in relieving frustration if nothing else) the best thing you can do to improve your own skill is to read.

“But, John, reading doesn’t help me write better!” I hear you decry.

“Calm thyself,” I archaically reply.

Here’s the thing, dear reader: we all have our little quirks. I’ve seen some people use the same word over and over again in their manuscript to the point where it became meme-worthy. I’ve seen people rely on the same tropes over and over to the point where every reveal was telegraphed a mile away (or kilometer if you’re feeling particularly fancy).

So how can reading cure these ailments?

Well, since your reading other people’ work it lets you see multiple author’s perspectives as well as absorbing the elements of their writing. The more you read the more you see how different authors handle different situations. How did someone handle travelling cross country? Subterfuge? Action scenes?

Before too long you’ll be able to identify just what methods they used and decide on whether you’d like to employ similar methods in your own writing. You’ll get a better idea of how to write scenes (or how not to write them) as well as scenes, worldbuilding, and characters.

It’s just a simple, easy, way for you to seamlessly improve your writing via osmosis, and you get to read more! Truly you come out on top no matter what, dear reader, regardless of how much or little of the author’s technical skills you absorb or decide to utilize.

Note that I’m advocating for you to analyze said author’s work, not copy shamelessly.

Imitation may be the best form of flattery but at the end of the day you’re still just humping someone else’s leg and I’m personally not about that life.

Be fiercely independent and become your own person and develop your own style. You can be a fan of someone and not write your own book like a hackneyed imitation of their work, but I digress: the more you read the easier writing becomes.

Think of writing a book as sort of dance. There’s nothing wrong with trying to learn the steps yourself, but reading is like having an instructor there to break down each move for you and show you how to transition from one step to the next. In the end it’ll help you get the cadence down just that much quicker, and the faster you learn the dance, the sooner you can hit the floor to bust a move.