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How to Read Like a Writer
Become a better writer by becoming a stronger reader
“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it.”
–William Faulkner
The phrase “read like a writer” refers to thinking about how a text is written, considering the choices the writer makes, and reading to learn. A writing teacher, for example, can talk all day about how to write dialogue, printing handouts and lecturing about the format on the page. However, if you really want to write your own compelling and realistic dialogue, you are more likely to learn by studying how other writers do it. Hemingway’s fiction is a great model for writing dialogue. If you need to know how to set up the punctuation in dialogue or how to format it on the page, it makes sense to open up a Hemingway story — not a textbook.
This kind of active reading requires reading to understand how the text was written. You can — and should — still read for pleasure. Reading like a writer is something different.
4 techniques to help you read like a writer
1. Read widely
2. Annotate
3. Ask questions
4. Establish your own “wise guides”
