If You Want to Write...

I've begun reconnecting with area writers and writing groups after a long period of isolation (the reasons why are not relevant here). Something that came to me while fighting insomnia last night is this: if you want to write, you must READ BOOKS.


If you write fiction, you must read widely, both in your genre and out of it. Study styles, how dialogue is crafted, what is said and what is left out, and how the author manages to communicate images and feelings without blatantly spelling them out (i.e., no "She felt sad" sorts of sentences). And that's only a small part of what you need to study, because there are ways characters are formed, how settings are communicated, how the plot is paced, and so on.


I recommend reading best-selling authors, not because their writing is flawless (in my experience, it's workmanlike at times). However, many best-sellers have one strong, compelling aspect, and that is the plot. Now, the plot may not work for you, or it may resolve stupidly and make you throw the book at  the wall. But the best-selling author knows how to hook you, knows how to keep you reading page after page after page when you have an early meeting the next morning, and knows how to make the pacing consistent.


I meet so many writers or people who want to write who feel they have stories and characters to share, but a number of these folks don't seem to read much. I'll mention some favorite authors (well-known people, usually, in various genres), and get blank stares. Come on, people! If you want to write a novel but never read novels, it's not terribly likely you'll be able to write one that will eventually be published.


To quote mega-best-seller and consummate storyteller Stephen King***: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."


So, if you want to write, find some good books and read, damn it all!


***Disclaimer: I don't like some of King's stuff, but that's mostly because really gory horror is too disturbing for me at bedtime...