“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.”—Stephen King
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| Photo credit: o5com on Flickr |
Long before I knew I was a writer, I was an avid reader. I
was that kid in school who sat in class with a book on her lap and had her nose
between pages during lunch.
So it always amazed me when someone would tell me they
didn’t like to read. Even in elementary school, I gaped at peers who said reading
was boring—I didn’t understand them. How could reading be boring? There’s a
book for everyone out there, surely you could find something that interested you.
Most of us that enjoy reading will say books are an escape—a
chance to slip into someone else’s life, someone else’s world and go on an
adventure with them. A good book will make you laugh and cry and feel as though
you’re right there with the characters, like the real world is the one within
the pages, not the one around you.
For writers, though, reading is even more important than
that.
You see, there are only two ways for artists to improve
their craft—practice and study the work of other artists. For writers, that
means you improve by writing and reading.
But there has to be a balance. You can only improve so much
if all you ever do is write—without studying published books out there, you
can’t learn about what works or doesn’t work. You aren’t exposing yourself to
other voices, other styles, other plots and characters and worlds that would in
turn influence your writing. Without reading fresh material, your writing will
plateau and it doesn’t matter how much practice you put in, you will stop improving.
On the flip side, if all you ever do is read without putting
your pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard), you will learn plenty about
craft and styles and voices, but without applying them yourself and putting in
on paper, you can’t start your journey as a writer.
Writers need to write and read all the time. Read good
books, bad books, popular books, obscure books, classics and trashy novels and
whatever catches your eye because there is something to be learned from any
book that sits on the shelf—even those you despise. Then, when you’re done
reading, you need to sit down and write.
In short, reading
gives us the tools to write. Writing without reading is like trying to
build a sculpture without clay, or create a painting without paint. Reading
isn’t just a hobby for writers—it’s a necessity.
Don’t have the time to read? Make time. Like writing, even
five minutes a day of reading is better than nothing, and if you’re serious
about improving your craft, then it’s not really an option.
How important do YOU think reading is for a writer?
Twitter-sized bites:
Twitter-sized bites:
Reading isn't just a hobby for writers—it's a necessity. (Click to tweet)
Don't have the time to read? Make time. If you're serious about becoming a writer, it's not an option. (Click to tweet)
