Good writers are good readers.
Why? Because most of our writing skills are picked up through osmosis--by reading and analyzing the works of others.
That's not to say that good readers are automatically good writers. No--there's still a degree of work involved.
But to the student of mine who claims to want to be a writer but doesn't enjoy reading, I say:
I'm sorry. It doesn't quite work that way.
The competition for publishing contracts is fierce. We need writers who not only read widely and read well, but those who slow down to read every. single. word. on the page. We need the writers who ask themselves why this word and not that one? We need writers who consider the placement of every phrase in the sentence and what it's trying to convey. We need writers who read aloud, listening carefully for the structure and rhythm and cadence--what makes the sentence sing. We need writers who read the authors who make them feel woefully inadequate then work hard to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be.
That's the only way this works.
Practicing, putting in the 10,000 hours, learning from both our successes and failures, and READING the works of others: this is how good writers are made.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
