Writing Rule #4: Reading Is Fundamental

4.    Read what you write. If you want to write short stories, read them, learn from the professionals, learn what you like, what you don’t like, and then use those things to create your own style.

When I first presented these "rules" at a speech, a young man asked me if you could be a good writer without having to read anything. This is probably one of the more difficult questions I've ever been asked. The answer, of course, is yes and no.

On the one hand, reading your own genre helps alert you to what the current trends are, what's been done, what's been done 10,000 times, and what is out of favor. My genre has changed dramatically over the decades. In the 80's, characters only served to move the plot forward. In the 90's, the plot only served to highlight the characters. In the 00's, we're all trying to figure out if we should be copying the 90's or try moving the genre in a new direction and no one seems to know for sure.

However, I've personally found that my greatest "skill" as a writer is my ability to mimic any style I like. This can be a fun little ability (especially in a scholastic environment) but not when you're trying to find your own voice. The book I'm currently editing has definite chapters where I think, "Wow, I was reading a LOT of Jane Austen" and then others where I was probably reading a comic book from the looks of the dialogue.

So it's a two-edged sword. It's very helpful to understand the conventions of your genre, the do's and do not do's. Knowing the rules always helps, because knowing them allows you to find interesting ways of breaking them. But you also don't want to be so immersed in someone else's style and prose that you forget what made your own voice unique.

So when I know I'm going to be writing heavily in the near future, I try to stay away from books altogether so that my mind will sort of re-set itself. Another way to quick start your brain is to read something you've written that is quintessentially you.

I've found the rhythm in this song to be sort of trance-like, which is usually the state I'm trying to reach when I get down to serious writing. There's no official video for it, so I found one of what appears to be a robotic slug or undersea creature. Really it's just here so you can here the song...

Yoav: Adore Adore


 
Topics: Writing , Author , Novel , Authorship , Creativity , Yoav , Stages of Creativity