How to Read Like a Writer
4 reading tips to improve your writing, stat
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For the last year, I’ve been working nonstop with writers from outside of academia who want to be published authors. Here are two good things these creatives have in common: passion and determination. Here is one negative habit they share: they all read passively.
Passive reading—or pleasure reading—certainly has its time and place, namely on the beach or while tucked under a fuzzy blanket in a vacation rental. But if you truly want to publish, you have to learn to read professionally. You have to get super active with your reading—invest some actual sweat.
Here are a few tips that have helped me, personally, to switch from reading for pleasure to reading for performance. (Spoiler alert: they all involve figuring out how other writers accomplish things so you can do them, too.)
- Identify POVS and POV shifts: This is…