To write you must also read
i recently started reading a book about creative writing (which i will likely consume very slowly, since my access to it is digital & limited), but one of the main points of the first chapter was worth sharing:
to become better at writing you must also read.
i've been thinking about it a lot over the past week. the book suggests reading indiscriminately and heavily, which is well and good advice, but did not offer much beyond that. so here are my personal takes/elaborations:
read in a genre you want to write & pay attention to details like how the author world-builds, how they set scenes, or whether the story is character-driven vs event driven from your perspective
if there's something you want to improve in your writing, pay attention to how your favorite authors establish that. authorS plural, try to get more than one perspective
read some nonfiction. not your style/don't know where to start? find something niche and weird. my personal rec at this exact moment is one of Caitlin Doughty's books; alternatively pick one about a social issue you really care about or want to learn more about
read something you don't like every once and awhile. yeah. do it
re-read something you really liked when you were younger with a critical eye. (you can still like it)
read some poetry (unfortunately i don't have recs for this one, but if you do feel free to add)
read some fucked up short stories and then try writing your own shortened narratives. "The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin is p haunting. (disclaimer the short stories do not have to be fucked up)
feel free to add your own points, but the gist is to read with an eye for what you want to improve in your own writing, or to read with a mind for trying new things and getting new perspectives for what can be done with writing.
