Commentary: The Importance of Reading as a Writer
Reading Time: 4 minutes read
I maintain that there are only two things you have to do to be a writer:
- You have to write.
- You have to read.
The writing part is indisputable. In order to call yourself a writer, you have to actually write. But the reading part is a bit more contentious. There are people who don’t read, but still want to write. They say they don’t have time to read, or that they don’t like reading. Can you write if you don’t read? Sure. Can you be a good writer if you don’t read? Absolutely not.
If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.
—Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
The two rules
First, let’s address my two rules for writing.
- Rule 1: You have to write.
Writing is the act of putting pen to paper and writing. It takes many different forms for many different people, but it always ends in telling a story. There are all sorts of “rules” out there written by gatekeepers who think there is more to it than just writing. I deeply believe the rules are only guidelines, meant to show new writers how to work the craft. But even new writers can break the rules. Take a look at House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski as an example of a debut novel that does just that.
Writing is supposed to be fun, and if sticking to the rules makes it not fun for you, then ignore the rules. Enjoy what you’re writing first and foremost, but make sure you’re writing.
- Rule 2: You have to read.
Reading is vital to the writing process. You need to read to know what a story looks like. This includes reading wide—both in your genre and medium and out. Novels, novellas, short stories, scripts, comics. Some understanding of how a story functions may come from watching movies and tv shows, but ultimately seeing how the words look on the page—how the sentences and paragraphs are structured—is invaluable to any writer.
My biggest question for people who don’t read is why would you want to create something you don’t enjoy consuming? Why would you write if you don’t like reading? I think for a lot of writers who don’t read, writing is an accessible means of telling their stories when really they should be making a video game, creating a comic, directing a movie, or other means. Writing is easy to get into, but it’s a lot of work. That work includes reading and consuming written media.
What should you be reading?
So we covered that you should be reading, but what? I mentioned a few things in the last section. Anything written—from poetry to novels to comics—will help you progress as a writer. It’s important to read inside your genre to get a feel for what that looks like, but also outside. Read romance, mystery, adventure, westerns, etc. You can learn from all written stories, whether they’re successful or not.
How to get back into reading
Sometimes through no fault of our own, we fall out of reading. I personally went ten years without reading anything more than a Reddit post. It happens, and it’s hard to get back on the wagon. My suggestion is find time in the times where you’re doing nothing. In the bathroom, when that pot of water is boiling for dinner, waiting for a friend to show up for a night out.
Audiobooks help a lot of people who’ve fallen out of reading, too. You can listen while you’re on a walk, exercising, cooking, or cleaning. Stories were told through voice for a long portion of human history, so don’t think of audiobooks as “cheating” or “not reading”, because they are still valid.
We have so many moments of downtime, and it doesn’t matter if you only read a page in a single moment. Reading will come again; you’ve just got to find the time.
Conclusion
The most important thing a writer can do is read a variety of stories. It might be hard to find time, but there are all kinds of downtime moments, and reading speed doesn’t matter as long as you’re reading.
I don’t have many hard opinions on the writing process, but I stand by the fact that in order to be a writer you have to read.