Why Every Writer Should Read Books (But A Lot Don't!)

Finding time

Writing takes a huge bite out of our lives, especially if we work long hours and spend yet more time getting to and from the office. And then there's kids to feed, housework to be done, and a whole host of other mind-numbingly boring and distracting chores that sap and fizzle away at our time like sulphuric acid. So with all this going on it can be difficult for the writer - especially if they are doing it as a hobby or if they are querying agents and/or publishing houses - to find adequate time to read. After all, it is a battle in itself merely to find sufficient time to write that novel or poem we've been working so hard to finish, never mind pick up The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or Jack Strong and the Red Giant (Okay, guilty as charged - that's my own book I'm plugging!) for example. But, as writers it is important - nay imperative - that WE do find time to read and treat it just as importantly as writing.

 

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Why Books?

The most obvious reason why we should read more is basic artistic respect. How can we expect our readers to read our work from beginning to end, and if we're lucky enough fall madly in love with it, if we aren't willing to devote valuable time into reading other writers? If we were all to do this then no one would read at all. No man is an island and no writer either. It would have a knock-on effect of reducing sales, leading in turn to agents and publishing houses cutting back on the number of books they publish, thus reducing their demand for new and talented writers (us!).
In George R.R Martin's Game of Thrones, his character Tyrion Lannister remarks that "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone." Not only is this true for Tyrion but it is also true for any aspiring writer. If, for example, you are a budding science fiction writer does it not make sense to read as much as you can about science fiction, rather than simply getting your ideas from a T.V set or from the locker room of your mind? The same can be said for any kind of writer be they a poet, a biographer, or a children's writer etc. But not only that, when we read books we get another thing that our imagination and the T.V cannot wholly provide, namely: language. When we read books we are digesting literally thousands upon thousands of words that swill and swirl around our brains; words that when we sit down to write flow back out of our minds and onto the page. There are also other advantages like learning correct grammar, how to write in colloquial English, how to show and not tell, what kind of characters work and which don't, and so on and so forth. And if any of you out there own (like me) a Kindle or another such reading device you can now underline and take notes whilst you are reading, thus increasing your comprehension of the book in question, leading again to a greater appreciation of the art of writing.


Which Books?

You should read anything and everything you want so long as you enjoy it - after all what's the point of reading anything you don't enjoy when there are literally trillions of books waiting for you to read? A writer can certainly learn a lot from reading a 'bad' book and see more clearly their mistakes and bad habits but with this method there is a danger that a) the writer in question copies the poor writing techniques into their own writing and b) begins to read these 'bad' books rather sparsely. Taking myself as an example, whenever I'm reading a good book that I really enjoy I want to read it as much as possible (Despite its 1200 or so pages I read the fifth Game of Thrones book in a little under a week), but when I'm reading something that doesn't quite hold my interest or is full of mistakes, I find myself doing other things in my spare time, such as watching T.V and going out with my friends. Ultimately, if you read enough 'good' books you will still come across plenty that (in your opinion) could be improved and better written, with more realistic characters etc, thus fueling the creative process.
I also think that, like I said earlier, if you are a sci-fi writer then it makes sense for you to read a lot of sci-fi books, so as to better acquaint yourself with your chosen genre. However, I do think that it is equally important that writers step out of the box a little and read something that isn't immediately connected with what they're writing on. Whilst I often read and write YA, Sci-fi, and fantasy books I also make time for authors as diverse as Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Charles Dickens, not to mention lots of poetry and non-fiction. Ultimately, if you read-up a lot on your chosen genre (particularly if  the authors are contemporaries) - and the type of words, characters and narratives that they employ - then you will become more publishable, as your books will be more in tune with the expectations and desires of the modern reading public. 

T.V and Movies


However, despite all this, I don't want to under-estimate the importance of movies and T.V in modern day writing. Depending on what you watch, some T.V series' such as Lost, The X-Files, The Wire, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer for example, can also be of help to the constant (because writing should be more or less an every day activity) writer in the way that they portray and develop storylines and character arcs. When I was younger I used to love watching T.V shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica and I would often try to guess how this character or that character would change and develop over the course of the series. When I first started writing my debut novel - and I wasn't reading nearly as much as I'm reading now - all those hours spent pent up in my room dreaming of the USS Enterprise's space battles or else how the characters of Lost were going to end up on that island were of great help to my writing, not least because as well as informing me about character, plot, and dialogue, they also fed my IMAGINATION, which is the pillar around which all writing (especially genre writing) revolves.


No Excuses


How much time should you allocate to reading? Well, ultimately that is up to you and you have to be honest with yourself if you feel you are reading enough or not. In my opinion, I believe that for every hour you write you should spend an equivalent hour with your nose in a book, and on holidays you can even double-up on both in order to pump up your 'literary muscles'. "But I'm too busy to read!", I hear you say, and to which I'll reply "Are you?" Just be honest - when you're on the bus or the train to work are you reading a book, or are you zooming through twitter, or else checking your Facebook page for the tenth time that day? What do you do when you are having lunch? Are you watching T.V or reading a paper or nattering to Bill about the weather or the latest situation in Chechnya? If you think about it you can easily claw back an hour or two from your day to read the book of your choice.
In the end, the more you read - just like the more you write - the more you will sharpen your literary mind, thus bringing whatever writing project you are working on closer to completion, perfection, and ultimately publication.
So go on - read a book!