Writers Learn From Other Writers

I was listening to a radio show on NPR a couple of weeks ago and the guest was talking about how nothing is really original. Everyone learns from a teacher, and that teacher learned from a teacher, and so on and so forth. And in this way everything we do, say, produce, create...it's all just recycled. Just in different ways.

And if that's the truth (which I believe it is), then what better way to find a new way to recycle words than to learn from other writers?

I've become a true bookworm as my world has settled down and I've gotten into a rhythm of married life, impending middle age (is 34 middle aged? I'll be turning 34 next month), and just the ebbs and flows of getting older. Everything is more quiet, more subdued. I'm a long way removed from the days of mixed drinks and late nights at the club.

And I've noticed that the more I read, the more I revert back to the analytical mindset of my college days. As an English major we were trained to scrutinize words, phrases, tone, theme. To read between the lines. And as an aspiring author, and one who is taking that aspiration seriously at this point in her life, I'm learning to pay more attention to the things writers do well along with the things they do poorly.

Which presents an interesting conundrum for me. Because I want to relax when I read and get swept into the story, where my living room turns to static and eventually fades away completely. But it's just in those moments that I pull myself out and ask, "Why?"

If you want to be a writer, you must first be a reader. I truly believe that. Writing is a craft that needs to be practiced, and in order to learn what works well and what doesn't, you simply have to read other books. As many books as you can. That way you can fish out the gems and also learn to identify the stinkers. And determine what, exactly, makes the word/scene/character/book such a stinker (so you don't repeat it yourself).

Every once in a while I'll come across someone who says they want to be a writer but yet they never read and they never pick up a pencil (or tap on a computer keyboard except to post on Facebook). I think that's a recipe for certain failure. How can you write if you don't read?

When I think about having a hobby, I can honestly say my hobby is reading. Sure, I love to cook. I love yoga. I love dancing. I love gardening. But my biggest hobby is reading. It's what I choose to do with most of my spare time when I have it available. If you're a writer, is reading your hobby? Or is it an afterthought?