Amanda Hough's Blog: Writing and Editing Fiction - Posts Tagged "reading"

In my mind, there are two primary kinds of writers—intuitive and meditative. George R.R. Martin describes it another way. Intuitive writers are like gardeners- Dig a hole, drop in a seed and see what grows. Meditative writers are the architects. Meditative writers are planners. Down to the last detail, a meditative writer maps out the narrative from start to finish. I am a firm believer that there is no right or wrong path to writing. The key is to write. No matter what, write. When you do not want to…when you are blocked…write. When all else fails, read about writing.

There are many great books out there but here are three I recommend.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss
A wonderful choice when you want to get down and dirty with punctuation. And who doesn’t, right? It is urbane and utterly English.

Elements of Style by William Strunk
The definitive guidebook on American English writing. It has its detractors but a writer would be remiss to ignore this book.

And finally…
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
My absolute favorite book about writing and the process by one of my favorite authors. One needn’t be a fan of his work to appreciate this book.
Starting in March I am going to begin offering one of these books (and others like them) to one of my blog readers. Stay tuned and visit my website for updates.
Amanda
http://www.progressivedits.com

"Read, read, read. Read everything-trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window." -William Faulkner
I recently read an article highlighting an author who was being interviewed by a reporter. When asked what she is currently reading, the writer’s response floored me.
“I don’t read,” she said. “Just don’t have the time. Not my thing.”
How, on Earth, can a writer not read? Reading is an apprenticeship for all writers. Reading inspires writing. Not the other way around. Would a plumber plumb without months, years of practical application through study and practice?
I read every day. I do it because I love it. Reading is a therapy, an escape and a lesson. Admittedly there are times reading is a lesson in what not to do. It is still a lesson.
How does a nonreader build a robust vocabulary? How does one create a technique to translate the fiction in your head to the screen or paper? Most of us are not born naturally gifted storytellers. We need to learn and refine our skills. We can do this by reading, writing, talking about our craft and then writing some more!
I’d love to hear what you do to get inspired. Share in the comments.