Books as Writing Teachers
It’s nice to be well-read. A good way to talk with your editor about a book you are working on is to reference another book that employs a literary device particularly well.
I know it might sound daunting, but really it’s not. Let yourself read and don’t take it too seriously. Read for fun and know the literary motifs in the books you are reading are being absorbed by your writing mind. Read all books. Books you think you will like and even books you think might not be your thing.
Studying books doesn’t always mean liking them. I’ve read plenty of books I’ve learned from simply because they weren’t good. When I read one like that, I just ask myself why I didn’t like it.
If I love the book, I ask myself why and I try to go a little deeper than, “it was a great story,” but I don’t sit around analyzing it in complicated terms like I would if I were writing a paper for college. For example, I read a book recently that was predictable. I don’t need to have a Ph.D in English (and I don’t!) to see the writer wasn’t particularly good at keeping me on the edge of my seat. Overthinking the experience can ruin the fun.
Read hard stuff. Read the classics (many have been made into movies) and read contemporary books that have lasting appeal, like To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee or Jewel, by Bret Lott, or The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan.
Blame your need to read on work. When you are a writer, Reading really is Working.
Keep reading and then someday, when you are on a call with your editor and she or he says something along the lines of, “Susie, it’s like in Gone With the Wind. Have you read that? Did you notice the way Scarlett…?” Then you will be able to talk easier with your editor. Or better yet, to reply back with a different book you have read that did the same thing.
Of course it’s okay to say no, that you haven’t read the book. I recently dared to admit to my own editor that I’d watched the movie version of a book instead. She went on to recommend an additional good movie to watch.
After the conversation with my editor, I of course ran out and found all of the books she used as examples. I’m halfway through the list and I’m beginning to see why she liked them. (Libraries are great for this, since as struggling writers we can’t all buy loads of books.)
The best part about reading is that if you aren’t published yet, and even when you are, you will be learning about writing. It will be subconscious, but I can almost guarantee that if you are a good writer, you have read some great books.
Keep reading and your writing will improve.
