One Tired, Tarnished Writing Tip…with Six Twists
Read.
That’s It. That’s the tired tip.
Read.
Probably the most common piece of advice given to wannabe and novice writers. The advice is generic…read, read, read.
Yes, and then . . .?
What does reading do for our writing?
Pat Conroy, author of My Reading Life (2010), suggests this:
Now when I pick up a book, the prayer that rises out of me is that it changes me utterly and that I am not the man who first selected that book from a well-stocked shelf.
The unstated purposes of “read, read, read” for writers are
- to explore all genres of writing,
- to identify qualities in writing that appeal to us as readers,
- to emulate those fine qualities in our own writing, and
- ultimately, as Conroy suggests, to internalize our reading so we change and become better persons ourselves.
How can you read more, high quality writers without spending a fortune…
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