READING TO BE A WRITER
So you want to be a writer, and you’ve heard it’s a good idea to read more. It’s a better idea to read differently. You know what you like to read; now you have to figure out why and how those particular words in that particular order are so alluring. After all, they’re just words on a page, right?
Usually, when you read an engrossing book, you want to know what happens next. As you turn the pages, you’ll be spinning conjectures in your head about who will do what to whom next, but such reading is mostly a movement to the end — the finale! – of the story.
If you want to read like a writer, however, you have to stop that end-ward momentum at least occasionally for a little back and forth. If you find a scene or some dialogue to be particularly flavorful, stop and try to decipher it. What makes this section work so well? The words? The pacing? The underlying tension? How exactly does the author make this world of words so authentic or memorable? Try to figure it out. Then try to articulate what you figure out. It’s not always easy, but it’s how I learned many tricks of the trade.
When I was teaching high school English, I often told my students to read everything they could twice, especially poems or short stories. They were always amazed by how much they missed the first time. Once is not enough. So if it’s masterful, it deserves a second or even a third look.
The second time you read something your mind is more observant and critical, in a productive way. You might notice how the endings of your favorite author’s chapters leave you begging for more and unable to turn out your light. Why is that? Figure it out. You might notice how each character has his or her own style of speaking and a few distinctive tag words, which made them all seem so real. You might notice all the sensory details – the swishy scarlet leaves underfoot, the howling of a lone dog in the predawn hours, the prick and itch of thorns in the rustling underbrush — that your favorite author included to make the story feel really real. Your author worked hard to put all those details in just the right place, so pay attention!
By reading closely, you as a writer start to see exactly how other writers accomplish their brilliance. It’s not magic; it’s a mastery of words. You can start to unlock their secrets and make them your own. And always keep in mind that every book you hold in your hands (or at least 99.9% of them) was written and rewritten and revised and re-revised and then rewritten some more. There’s a myth in our culture about that flash of inspiration in which fingers fly across the keyboard. But ask any writer, and she’s likely to tell you that such moments are few and farther between.
In fact, some days when I get stuck and frustrated with my own novels, one of the things I do to unlock myself is to reread some great passages from a favorite author. I might pick up something by Jane Austen or Kristin Cashore or Melissa Marr just to remind myself how well it can be done.
They are only words on a page, and I can handle that.
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