Jenn HollowellI Am a Writer And a Reader
August 23rd 2008 17:42
Yes, it’s true. I do read. I like books. There, the truth is out. Although, if you know me in real life, this is a fact that’s already known to anyone who visits. I have a lot of books lining my shelves, collected in corners, collected in baskets, and still in boxes waiting to be unpacked. I read a lot of books
I’ve written about this in the past on other websites, but it’s worth mentioning here also. In order to really understand what kind of writing you want to do, or how you want to do it, you have to read. You have to read a lot. If you’re not the type who likes to read much, then it kind of defeats the purpose of being a writer . . . who will eventually be read. See the distinction?
I’ve come across a lot of writers who don’t like to read over the past decade and, to be quite frank, it boggles my mind. How is it that writers want to be read, but they don’t read themselves? This has never made much sense to me.
One of the first things I learned when I entered into this field is that a writer reads more than they write. I don’t know if I do this now, but I certainly did when I started out. Every bit of information I could get my hands on, be it in print or on the web, I consumed in healthy portions. I didn’t want to leave anything un-researched, nor did I want to overlook any important details about being a writer.
I read a lot of different genres, as well. I had interest in fiction writing at the time, but I didn’t know what sort of fiction I wanted to write. So, I read a variety in order to get the feel for the author’s writing, where they found their ideas, and how they developed their plots. This was also true for non-fiction writing. If the book could help me as a writer, a person, or a parent, I was reading it!
Do you read a lot, or do you find that you read more in the past than you do now? If you don’t read much now, is time the biggest obstacle? Do you feel a writer should read more than they write?
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