how to read like a writer
I see a lot of posts about how people will read an amazing book and feel like they’ll never be able to do anything like it, and it completely discourages them. I’ll admit, it’s really difficult as an unestablished writer to picture yourself writing something as amazing as what you’ve just read, but the important thing to remember is that these amazing pieces can build the foundation of your own work, and that reading these things is to your own advantage. Some important questions to keep in mind while reading are:
What is the author including that I’m not? Is there anything in their prose that startles you? a phrase you wouldn’t use, an unexpected flow of a scene, an atmosphere to their story that you haven’t seen used in a particular genre, etc. These things are all yours to weigh for their usefulness in your own work.
What do they describe first? This can set the tone of the entire piece, and is great in establishing atmosphere, and even bigger themes of the book. More than that, first descriptions can be strong lasting images for the reader when used effectively. Lasting images of the piece help create a stronger emotional resonance.
How does the author introduce characterization? Some authors use small moments of actions, the character’s own narrative voice, other characters’s interactions with them or opinions of them, contrast between characters, and even outright stating characterization (which can be insanely effective and elegant in certain styles). It’s important to recognize how the author in question does this, especially when it’s distinctly resonant with you. This is an open foundation for you to build your own characterization on.
Are they more sentimental or cynical? This is mostly the scale of measure I use when analysing an author’s voice. Overall, they’ll usually swing to one side of things. But more importantly, try to look at the overall blend of the two, and how the voice tends to shift to either one while writing certain scenes, or characters. Often, either one could be used to contrast, add to characterization (such as with a pov), denote a change in setting (effectively shifting atmospheres), etc.
Hope this helps someone out there!
These are all really really great! I hope you don’t mind me adding one more:
How long do they spend on each type of writing? Setting descriptions, dialogue, characterization, etc. Whichever thing you’re struggling with, pay attention to about how many words your favorite authors devote to any of those things at a time, and what percentage of their overall work is focused on it? Are they heavy on dialogue, and intersperse it with tiny bits of character description? Do they spend a lot of time on the character’s inner world, but not a lot on the physical surroundings? Do they keep physical descriptions down to a sentence or two, or do they fill paragraphs with it?
How do they format their writing? is dialogue interwoven with text? or is it a conversation, back and forth, without any added description? do they place description before or after a character speaks? do they have long paragraphs or short ones, and which do you prefer? if they’re long, why are they long? if they’re short, why are they short?
How do they set up mood/tone? if it feels somber, why does it feel somber? the dialogue, the pacing, the motifs, the weather? short sentences, unanswered questions, switching point of view? what contributes to the mood, what specifically about the setting/characters creates different emotional environments?
Is the story being told, created or revealed? Is there a narrator describing the character’s actions and the plot? is it past tense, as in, someone is telling the story? is it being created, where the characters are pushing forward new unforseen developments that no one is aware of yet? is it being revealed, where only parts of the story or certain points of view are being displayed?
