When was the last time you read a book? A magazine? A newspaper?
If the answer isn't today, don't expect to get published in the near future. A writer who doesn't read is like a musician who never listens to music. You might learn how to play that violin, but it's never going to sing the way Itzhak Perlman's does. Who's Itzhak Perlman? Ah, see that's another problem with not listening to music. You don't know who's who.
It's the same with writing. Stephen King says the two things writers must do are to read and to write. A recent National Endowment for the Arts study showed that only 56.6 percent of American adults had read a book in the past year, a 10 percent decline from 10 years earlier, with the highest drop among those age 18 to 24. That's pretty frightening. Who's going to read what we write?
But what's even more frightening is that when I ask my writing students what they read, a significant number don't read much of anything.
Of the students who do read, many read only genre fiction. There's nothing wrong with reading for pleasure, but these same wannabe writers want to publish newspaper and magazine articles, memoirs and literary novels. That's like trying to play classical music when you only listen to rap.
TV, radio and the Internet are stealing some of the time we used to spend reading, but to be effective, a writer must read. Why?
1) People who read a lot unconsciously absorb the shape and syntax of good writing. It's like learning music by ear. By reading material that is well-written and well-edited, you get used to how sentences are supposed to flow. You learn grammar, spelling, punctuation and word usage. Even if you don't know the rules, you recognize what looks right and what doesn't. I see so much bad writing these days, filled with misspellings, misusage, and quirky punctuation. I think there has to be a connection.
2) Every editor complains about submissions that are obviously wrong for their publication. Study the market, they plead. That means, read what they publish. If you want to write for a particular periodical, grab a whole stack of back issues and read them. Find out what they've already published, so you don't unknowingly send the same thing--instant rejection--and so you get used to kinds of things the editors like. If you can refer in your query to work you admired in previous issues and if you can pinpoint where your submission would fit, your chances of publication increase tremendously.
3) If you want to write a particular type of book, read others in that genre to learn what has been done before and to learn the conventions. Inhale the style and organization of these books. Then when you're pitching your own book to an agent or editor, you will be able to list the competing books and explain how your book will fit in.
4) You can learn more about writing from reading what has already been successfully published than you can from countless classes, workshops and how-to books. Read for entertainment, sure, but also read with a purpose. If a book or a story or a poem moves you, read it again with pencil in hand. Like a carpenter studying a building, take notes on how they put it together. Outline the plot, look at how the author handles point of view, characters, dialogue, and setting. Does he use flashbacks? How does he integrate research into the narrative without slowing down the story? You can't copy another person's words, but you can certainly use the same format as a framework for your own stories.
5) Whatever you read adds to what you know and broadens what you can write about. It also sparks up your dinner conversation.
Read the best in the genre you want to write. If nonfiction is your bag, splurge on a subscription to The New Yorker, The Sun, or Creative Nonfiction. If you want to write science fiction, read Asimov's Science Fiction. Read anthologies of the best, such as the Pushcart Prize winners, Best American Short Stories, and others in the "Best American" series. Hit the library or the second-hand stores for copies of classic literature. And don't read only in your own genre. Try a little variety. Powell's bookstore has a great list of prizewinners at http://www.powells.com/prizes/prizes.html that would be a good place to start.
You say your schedule's too tight and you're lucky if you get your e-mail read? Me too, but wherever I go, I carry a book or magazine. If you want to be a writer, start reading.
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P.S. My book on freelancing for newspapers is due out this spring from Quill Driver Books. I'll let you know when they start taking orders.
Copyright 2006 Sue Fagalde Lick
About the Author: SUE FAGALDE LICK is a former newspaper editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has published four books, countless articles and many poems and stories. She teaches writing workshops online and at Oregon Coast Community College. Visit her web site at http://www.suelick.com, and her blog at http://www.freelancingfornewspapers.blogspot.com.
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