As someone who writes for a living, there is one question I get asked more often than others.
“What is your greatest tip for being a good writer?”
The answer has kept changing over the years. Because it’s harder and more nuanced than you can imagine.
It’s like asking a surgeon the secret to saving lives. Is it making the right diagnosis? Slicing open the afflicted organs in a particular way? Using specific drugs to mitigate the illness? Or administering the right post-op care?
Writing—and surgery—are both art forms that require the right combination of multiple factors, including but not limited to knowledge, skill, perseverance, creativity, and a lot of practice.
That said, there is one tip that can make a whole lot of difference between being good and being great at writing. Just as the orchestra can fall apart without a talented and skilled conductor, your writing can fall flat without this ingredient.
So, how do you become a great writer when writing well isn’t enough?
It’s by being a better reader.
Yes, you heard it right. But what does that really mean? How does reading help you become a better writer? Let’s dive in.
First, reading exposes you to different writing styles, voices, and techniques. Every book, article, or blog post you read introduces you to a new world of language, tone, and structure. You learn how to craft sentences, use metaphors, and create characters from the writers you admire. And when you read a lot, you begin to internalize these techniques and use them in your own writing.
Second, reading expands your vocabulary and improves your grammar. The more you read, the more words you come across, and the better your vocabulary becomes. You learn how to use words in context and understand their nuances. You also learn how to structure sentences and paragraphs and avoid common grammatical errors. Your subconscious mind acts like a sponge, absorbing it all, connecting everything to everything else and before you know it, you find yourself using the same words and sentence structures that you have read before, almost like magic.
Third, reading sparks your imagination and fuels your creativity. When you read, you immerse yourself in a story or an idea that someone else has created. You see the world through their eyes and imagine the possibilities. You feel the emotions of the characters and experience their journeys. And all of this expands your own imagination and gives you new ideas for your own writing. You start to think of new characters, new plots, and new themes that you can incorporate into your own work.
Perhaps this is why my mom used to hide book after book filled with stories of wizards and witches, talking monkeys and flying horses, sagacious kings and common thieves…so that one day, inspired by these beautiful, enigmatic worlds, I could create one of my own, with my own words.
There are many famous writers who credit their love of reading as the foundation for their writing success.
(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has spoken about how much she loved reading as a child and how it inspired her to become a writer. She has said that reading books by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and J.R.R. Tolkien helped her develop her own writing style and create the magical world of Hogwarts.
(Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
Maya Angelou, the acclaimed poet and memoirist, was also an avid reader from a young age. She has said that she read everything she could get her hands on, from Shakespeare to Charles Dickens to Langston Hughes. She has credited her love of reading with helping her find her own voice as a writer and inspiring her to tell her own story.
When you read a lot, you start to understand what you like and don’t like in writing. You begin to identify the elements that resonate with you and the ones that don’t. And when you write, you start to experiment with your own voice and style, trying out different techniques and finding what works best for you.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
As the famous writer Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” So, if you want to be a stellar writer, make sure you pick up an existing book before you pick up that pen. Your words (and readers) will thank you.
Author Bio:
Garima is a writer, content strategist, and marketer with a penchant for languages and travelling. She can speak (nearly) 5 languages and has travelled to over 50 cities. Her work experience ranges from diplomatic not-for-profit organizations to early-stage startups and more. She is a polymath who also hoards (and reads) books obsessively. You can read more from her on her LinkedIn and Instagram profiles.