Readaholic Writers

You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat.”

Here’s another one for you: “You are what you read.”

I read all the time. I have a shelf of books by my bed that I read from before I go to sleep (a good book will often induce sleep by pulling my scattered thoughts together into the story…unless the storyline is so suspenseful that I can’t stop reading), and sometimes I allow myself a half hour or so of reading while I eat my lunch. And Sunday afternoons, and…

I also have a story going at all times on my iPhone (I don’t have an iPad yet), for those times when I’m stuck waiting for an appointment or having my hair done.

And then there’s the audio book on my little old iPod Nano that I listen to while I’m doing mundane things around the house or in the garden. It makes a job speed by quickly.

Some writers say they stop reading while they’re working on a book, because they don’t want outside influences. However, in my opinion, we are never immune to outside influences. As long as I’m in control of what I feed myself through reading, the effects are positive.

Over the years, I’ve taught myself to read more analytically. I note what works and what doesn’t as I read. That is reflected, I hope, in my own writing. I’ve also done a fair bit of contest judging, mostly fiction because that’s what I write, and that experience always teaches me more about writing.

Reading and writing are intertwined for the writer, impossible to separate. So keep reading, read good books, read the kind you write and the kind you wish you could write! Experiment with new authors and genres. You never know when you’ll come up with something that opens up a whole new avenue of thought and writing for you.