Writers Don’t Just Write; They Read

One of the best and simplest pieces of writing advice I’ve ever received was to read. Clarification: not to just read but to be sure to read good stuff. Now, defining what makes good writing (or reading) leaves a lot of room for opinion. To be safe, I try to read material all across the spectrum.

I’m lucky to have friends who appreciate the importance of reading, and I often pick up suggestions from their reading lists. Sometimes these include the new, hot book just released, and sometimes it’s an old classic I missed in my formal education. I live in Appalachia and enjoy reading literature from the region. Because poetry doesn’t come naturally to me, finding and reading poetry is imperative. I even enjoy science fiction and fantasy (call it magical realism if it makes it sound more acceptable) when it’s done well.

Looking back at the entries in my reader’s journal, I found I completed 24 books between New Year’s and July 4^th. This isn’t an exceptional number, but it makes me proud. On some simple level, it makes me feel I’ve completed all of my homework, but more importantly I feel I must have grown somehow from all that reading.

Among the list for this year so far have been a fair number of novels set in Appalachia, a crime novel, my first foray into beat literature, a couple of non-fiction books (about subjects that have and will continue to show up in my own writing), one or two “best-sellers” and a couple of classics. I don’t count these in my reader’s journal, but I’ve also read numerous short stories in this time.

The point isn’t what I’ve read and if it’s the same or as good as what others are reading. If we all read and were influenced by the exact same books, we might all be writing too similarly. The point is that I’ve opened my mind to other writers – ones who write differently and probably better than I do. I’ve also read a few books I didn’t care for and thought weren’t very good, but I learned just as much or more from those books by noting styles and writing choices I don’t want to emulate.

I’ve heard people talk about wanting to be a writer, but when asked who they enjoy reading, they answer, “Oh, I don’t really have time to read.” Or, heaven forbid, they say, “I don’t like to read.” Those are people who only like the idea of being a writer. They don’t love words, the beauty of language, the exchange of ideas or the excitement of a good story.

I guess it’s okay to be one of those people. I used to think I wanted to be an archeologist, but I admit to not spending much time digging up ancient ruins. If you really do want to be a writer though, dedicate some of your time to reading. Make an effort to identify who some of your favorite authors are and why. What is it about their work that makes you enjoy it? Don’t be afraid for their work to influence yours too much. If they’re that good, you’ll be lucky if any of their craftwork filters into your own writing.

Books worth checking out:

• Provinces of Night by William Gay
• Here We Are in Paradise by Tony Earley
• Things Kept, Things Left Behind by Jim Tomlinson
• One Good Hand by Dana Wildsmith
• And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks by William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac
• The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
• Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles by Chad Berry
• The Motel of the Stars by Karen McElmurray
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.