Making Time To Read

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read.  Read good authors.  Read bad authors.  Read authors you like.  Read authors you dislike.  Read authors you’re indifferent to.  Basically, read as much as you can to broaden your vocabulary and style repertoire.

Unfortunately, life does happen, and finding time to read can be challenging.  Between work, kids, helping with homework, after school sports, cheerleading, and everything else, just getting time to breath can be tough, let alone pulling out a novel and becoming engrossed.  And it does take time since reading is something to get immersed in rather than just hit spottily.

Social media is also a distraction, if an avoidable one for those with discipline.  I’d love to say that was always me, but it’s not.  Sometimes I can ignore it, but other times I just get caught up(as most people do).  That can eat up reading time I should be spent with the latest tome I purchased rather than looking at pictures of cats that resemble Santa Clause.

If you can’t read, you will be unable to write well.  Seeing the various styles helps you see what you think works and what you think doesn’t.  The works of Harry Turtledove, Alan Dean Foster, Stephen King, Tad Williams, and numerous others has really helped me hone my style.  In fact, whenever I think my writing is getting thin, I pull out The Two Georges or Specter of thePast and refresh myself on how the writers slowed themselves down to tell a story without getting into Billy Budd territory.  That said, I need to write shortly thereafter in order to take maximum advantage.

So read.  If you don’t, don’t gripe about how tough writing is.  And I need to take my own advice.  I have three novels on my table now – it’s time to knuckle down.