Boost Your Writing Skills Through Reading | October 2023 Edition
The Parallel Universe Of Writers And Readers
You might have noticed that even on Medium, skilled writers with hundreds and thousands of followers often engage with the work of other writers. Many writers also share their feedbacks and offer tips on how to improve their writing to help them grow.
You might assume that they engage for f4f (follow for follow) or to offer guidance to new writers. Well, that’s not necessarily the reason all the time.
The primary reason that writers tend to frequently engage and read others’ stories is so they can improve and refine their own writing. Most of them read to clear their minds and sometimes to gain fresh and clear perspective.
“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river." — Lisa See
Why Should Writers Read?
Reading is the best option for anyone to write compelling articles. Let’s take a look at some of its benefits:
- Reading can enhance and expand your vocabulary in no time
- Reading allows you to explore various writing styles.
- When you read other people’s stories, you might find interesting topics to write about for yourself or creative ideas to refine your skills
- Reading helps you grow, when you know what readers want to read, you grow.
- You might encounter a writer who instantly becomes your source of motivation.
- Reading improves your grammar and develop great storytelling skills.
It’s true that every reader is not a writer but every dedicated writer must be a reader. When you stop reading you might fall behind. You wouldn’t know what people want to read and you won’t know which writing style in particular aligns with your genre. When you stop reading, you stop yourself from learning and exploring. Ultimately, you fall behind.
Keep This In Mind While Reading:
You have to read their stories to improve your vocabulary and grammar. Here are few steps you might consider as a writer when reading someone else’s work:
- Begin by scanning to check the overall layout of their work.
- Observe, how well they have organized information and managed their work.
- After you start reading, pay close attention to their grammar and vocabulary selection. If you come across new words, keep these words in your mind.
- Observe their writing style and observe how they interact with their audience.
- Try to identify mistakes if any, like using unnecessary words, long paragraphs with no break and continuously words repetition. Keep these mistakes in mind and try to avoid these when you write.
When you scan their stories and pinpoint their errors, refrain from criticizing them. They also invested hours or maybe days in writing their work, and it’s possible that what you’re categorizing as a mistake is not truly a mistake.
Always encourage your fellow writers and give them respect. Although, you can send a private note here on Medium to pinpoint their mistake.
Coming back to the topic…
DANGER AHEAD!!!
However, some writers find it difficult to stop once they start reading. They start enjoying reading others’ work too much, they hardly have time to write and publish their own work. When they begin reading more, they tend to write less.
Reading is beneficial for a writer only if their work remains consistent and of good quality. So, if you’re a writer, never forget to maintain a balance between reading and writing.
Read occasionally and write frequently.
Additionally, most of the writers start reading and end up comparing their stories to others’ ,thinking they’re not good enough. that’s not what a good writer would do.
Can I Write Without Reading?
Certainly, this is the question that my dear readers have in mind. It’s one answer is ‘Yes’ and the other answer is ‘No’.
- Why Yes?
Yes, because we are reading all the time, even if we don’t realize it. We read when we,
- Receive emails.
- Buy a new product to understand how it works.
- Search something on Google.
- Make purchases from websites.
- Visit Instagram, Facebook, X or other platforms.
We engage in reading almost constantly while using our laptops or mobile phones. So, you don’t have to read if you want to write. You can start writing when you feel like it. I heard you asking:
But you said, writers read to write.
Yeah, I said so.
- Why No?
You can begin your writing journey even without reading other writers’ work. But, there’s no guarantee that the content you write will be of high quality.
When you don’t read, your writing may lack basic spices because writing is different from the patterns or styles found in emails and instructional manuals.
You have to read books, stories and works of other writers. Without reading, you might be a writer but not a good one. A good writer always needs to read to evaluate writing style and techniques.
Now you see why writers read in order to write?
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