As Stephan King has quoted in his own precious words, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” Reading a book is fantastic because it enables you to abandon the actual world and enter the realm of the book. They have the power to mesmerize, educate, and influence your beliefs, and they can have the same impact on you as an actual event. Not to mention all of the additional benefits they provide along the journey. Human creativity is a mystery, and books are the key to unlocking it. They play a vital part in our life as a teacher, mentor, and friend. Our lives seem to be impossible to imagine without literature. They understand our grief, advise us, and give us the strength to explore the future with hope. So if you want to send someone the best conceivable gift, provide them with something fresh to look forward to “Another world.” Introduce them to the world of fantasy by sharing the magic of literature with them.
It’s always surprising when folks claim they don’t enjoy reading. Books are a wonderful vacation for individuals who cherish reading. They allow us to travel to different worlds, go on expeditions, and explore other person’s feelings and perceptions without having to leave our couches. We can grin, chuckle, weep, and contemplate while reading a fantastic book. We become wiser and more experienced as a result of it. When reading, one may feel as if they are one with the protagonists, as if the story within the chapters and the natural world around them is the same. That is only one of the numerous pleasures and advantages of reading. There are countless other reasons why one should read extensively.
Why do some people dislike reading?
For a variety, of factors people despise or refrain from reading. Some individuals tend to associate reading with academics or find it difficult to concentrate for long periods. Some people might not have direct exposure to reading materials. In contrast, several of them would rather spend their time doing anything else. If you grew up encircled by the wrong kinds of books, it’s only evident that they don’t interest you as much as they do to a bookworm currently. On the other hand, an ardent reader has enjoyed reading since a young age and is accustomed to reading a lot.
People who do not acquire the ability to read at an early age may find it highly challenging to completely appreciate how pleasurable reading can be, a problem that will linger as they grow old. Some authors avoid reading as well, for a variety of factors. Writers who are hesitant to absorb literature typically make an excuse related to their writing process: “I’m too preoccupied with my task to read something anyway.” “I would not want to scoop up any outside notions,” some writers could say. As if a thought were a contagious ailment. These emotions and anxieties are expected, and practically any author is likely to experience them at some point. However, if they are left ignored, they can be harmful to a writer’s art.
Why is READING books essential for writers?
Because the spark and enthusiasm for writing frequently originate from reading stories, most writers are voracious readers. The purpose of writing is to send the mind traveling to places it has never been before — to stroke the strings of imagination and curiosity and enrich the reality with characters, deeds, and wonderful visions of one’s own fabrication. The best writers understand how to piece together crucial dimensions and ideas so that they may hack into different regions of a reader’s brain. A writer must be diverse and innovative to attain this goal, and it is no secret that they must have acquired and increased these qualities through reading. Writers also study the finer details of their craft and read books on the subject. This is what helps them GROW as a writer.
Here we have mentioned some good reasons regarding why reading is important for writers (and everyone):
- Reading introduces you to a wide range of writing styles and techniques: Reading a variety of book genres can help you concentrate on the mechanical and stylistic decisions that allow different kinds of writing to work. Analyzing different pieces of writing with an emphasis on the writers’ creative inclinations will aid you in developing your uniqueness. Read widely to find out what other people did brilliantly and terribly to get to where they are now. Use everything you’ve learned to help you make more informed choices and accelerate your own achievement. When you follow their stories or narrative of their experience, you can master in a couple of weeks what took them ten years to learn and prevent their errors. You wouldn’t have to make the same blunders that other individuals did while in their initial stages.
- Reading a lot expands your vocabulary: As you read more, your vocabulary expands, and your linguistic and interaction skills improve. You get to know about newer vocabulary words and innovative methods to use them, whether deliberately or unintentionally. This improves your general ability to write. You can underline or note down phrases that you think are particularly well-crafted. Make a list of any words and phrases that you don’t recognize. Read and understand them and try to incorporate them into your next literary project’s narrative. A good vocabulary is also essential for anyone who wants to equip themselves with the tools they need to communicate themselves clearly and simply.
- Reading instills new ideas: Incorporating reading as a regular element of your schedule will allow you to introduce yourself to diverse strategies and tactics while also recharging your artistic talents for your upcoming writing task regularly. When you research extensively, you can look at a variety of issues from diverse perspectives, connect different acts to a variety of results, and come up with fresh solutions to issues. Reading allows you to tear down obstacles and enter a realm where anything is imaginable. The point is that reading would be most effective when it is done on a regular basis. A consistent reading practice allows you to stumble upon themes that excite you, and you might be willing to transform that creativity into a new piece of writing. This stimulates your brilliant imagination, resulting in more inventiveness and less inflexible reasoning.
- Reading aids in the development of critical thinking abilities: While you start reading consistently, you are able to question yourself throughout the process as you browse. And if that’s the case, then be assured that you have already started progress at your art. Identify who the great writers are, and seek fantastic novels that will inspire you. You’ll be able to bring a similar consideration to your own work if you can critically evaluate a piece of literature and discern what makes good writing good. Prior information, its memory, and its application are all required for the thinking process. Lack of expertise and information can, in fact, restrict thought. The ability to conceive and articulate thoughts, as well as the ability to generate knowledge and concept representations, are all required in the reasoning process. There has been a great deal of interest in bringing cognitive teaching into basic education in recent years, owing to three factors. There is a rising realization that we have numerous youngsters who are not thinking properly; second, that successful reasoning is a non-negotiable item in today’s world; and third, that we are gathering a growing body of information and study in this field that may be used in our institutions.
- Concentration is improved by reading extensively: Reading immediately stimulates the brain, and it may be done in tranquillity. When you read in solitude, your brain becomes more attentive, and your willingness to devote complete effort improves. Reading increases your ability to deal with even the most difficult concepts and activities. You must devote 100 percent of your mind to the reading material in order to retain and assimilate what you’re reading. Regular reading practice will improve your mental capacity, which will benefit you in various areas of your life. That could explain why, if you’re a reading person, you’re more inclined to write effectively after finishing a book and to complete tasks on time.
- Reading makes your brain work harder: To maintain health, your brain has to be kept busy and stimulated. Reading is a great mental workout. Trying to read is more challenging on the brain than word comprehension and visual processing from a neurological aspect. Reading improves your remembering and intellectual capability, keeps your intellect active by decreasing cognitive loss as you get older, and strengthens your brain against diseases. Reading stimulates the occipital lobe by providing visual engagement. This aids in the development of the imagination, which in turn aids in the development of innovation, establishing judgments and choices is also influenced by the occipital lobe.
What is the Golden Rule of Writing good content?
The greater you read, the better you will be at treating your audience.0 You have stepped into their shoes, and you know what the world of books seems like to the readers and what do they search for. So, you understand they don’t really appreciate ten chapters of grammar consisting solely of punctuations. You’ll understand this since you’ve walked in their shoes. An author who has not had the opportunity to read is similar to a composer who has not had the chance to listen to the radio or a cook who has never had time for lunch. If you want to write effectively, you must engage in both of these activities. When you read books in your domain and retain your own composition in the subconscious mind, you’ll invariably pick up new skills. Studying work by artists you adore can encourage, excite, and enlighten you. And besides, writing, like most other forms of art, is a dialogue.
Although you will benefit from the process if you read the only couple of selected items you despise, it’s crucial to recognize terrible writing to write properly. When you come across work that you disapprove of, thinking about some effective ways you could have tackled the theme distinctively in the future would aid you to minimize errors and even motivate you to write it well. For example, ponder about the following: Only after reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is the Night” did Ernest Hemingway write “The Sun Also Rises.” The argument is that reading is a necessary component of writing. They can’t exist without each other. Reading is a form of the “Golden Rule” for authors.
You must handle people the way you would like to be regarded, and if you really wish people to like your work, you must like theirs as well.
How can writers include READING in their busy daily schedules?
For many of us, getting started is the most difficult part of the job. There will be no turning back once we begin our journey. It’s all too easy to fall into a pattern of accomplishing relatively similar tasks over and over again, and this definitely includes our reading routines. It’s all too simple to keep reading the usual things after finding a category, a writer, or a theme we enjoy. If you’re trapped in a reading rut, consider forcing yourself to branch out and attempt a different concept or an approach of writing now and then. We’ve put together an educational guide on incorporating the habit of reading into your everyday hectic routine.
5 ways to magically accommodate READING in your daily schedule:
- While training on a piece of machinery that doesn’t require you to, for instance, keep an eye on it, read.
- At your workstation or in the lunchroom, read during your lunch break. If you need to, put on headphones; these will help you concentrate better when reading.
- Read when you’re still waiting for someone to arrive while standing in a queue, waiting for your kid to get out of the class, in the washroom, or basically anywhere you can.
- You can read on your way to and from work if you catch the subway or bus or rideshare, but not if you are going to drive, biking, or strolling.
- You can also switch to other digital mediums like audiobooks if you don’t have time or are simply bored reading physical books.
What books should writers read?
Now, let’s look at some amazing writing books. You will not be sorry for devoting time to reading these novels. They’ll change the way you write, and they’ll boost your creative abilities and keyboard proficiency shortly.
This list of suggestions contains some of the all-time favorites as well as some stunning new and recent additions that will assist wordsmiths of all types in polishing their talents, from bloggers to content creators to aspiring playwrights to poets.
8 MUST READ Books for Every Writer!
Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury, a prominent science-fiction novelist, compiled the teachings he learned about the profession over the course of his vast and fruitful career in Zen in the Art of Writing. This book by Ray Bradbury is a shot of sheer artistic inspiration. For each one of us, he conveys the pleasure of reading and writing at an early age, as well as a notion of purpose, better than just about any other author. If you’ve ever felt tired or blown out of ideas when it comes to writing, Bradbury’s book will reawaken the initial zeal and eagerness that piqued your attention in the beginning phase. Place Zen in the Art of Writing is a collection of essays about writing written by Bradbury at various points in his life, each with a distinct artistic theme or motivation. It contains autobiographical anecdotes as well as fantastic writing advice. It details his early years as an author, as well as his early boyhood and adolescent adventures. It’s penned in Bradbury’s inimitable way, and it’ll engulf you in his zeal. It’s a compassionate, insightful, and fascinating book that’ll have you deciding whether to read more Bradbury or return to your own work table. Something to preserve on the bookshelf, doodle in, and return to again and again.
Several Short Sentences About Writing, by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Verlyn Klinkenborg teaches creative writing at Yale and is a novelist. Verlyn Klinkenborg, an internationally renowned author and instructor, has written an invaluable and original book that will help anyone and everyone who wishes to compose, write better, or acquire a greater knowledge of what it entails to be writing. Most of our conventional understanding about how writing works, according to Klinkenborg, is not only incorrect but also a hindrance to our capacity to write. “Most of the received wisdom about how writing works is not only wrong but harmful,” he claims in the foreword to Several Short Sentences About Writing. The second half of the book is devoted to debunking myths and clarifying fallacies about the art. He steps forth to assist us in relearning that “wisdom,” about brilliance, innovation, writer’s block, theme statements, and outline—and grasp that writing is just as much about analyzing, observing, and discovering exactly what it signifies to be engaged in the process of writing in Several Short Sentences About Writing. This work contains no doctrine, orthodoxy, or philosophy. Rather, it’s a collection of guiding points on a path towards achieving vibrant, clear, and rewarding self-expression.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron
Julia Cameron’s landmark publication The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity includes what she refers to as “morning pages.” Morning pages is a fantastic flow of conscience writing practice that isn’t meant to produce publishable work. Still, it can enable you to keep your quill running and your ideas streaming, even if you haven’t ever had the plan to reveal them to the rest of the universe. In the fight against Pressfield’s “Resistance,” morning paper is a formidable armament. Cameron, an award-winning journalist, and poet is brilliant in that she does not really preach to the audience what they should do to attain their goals or who they ought to be; alternatively, she provides a road plan for them to begin investigating these topics for themselves. Instead, it leads the reader through an interesting and enjoyable 12-week regimen of activities and excursions designed to help one free up their creative soul. It sets you on a voyage that costs you nothing, and apart from it, it provides you with a lot of perspectives, gradually guiding you to discover what’s keeping you behind and how to progress ahead. If you’ve constantly desired to explore a creative ambition, dabble and develop with language or colors, this book will calmly guide you through the process and teach you various paying-attention strategies; after all, that’s what becoming an artisan is really all about. It all boils down to mastering the art of paying attention.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King
Stephen King, the massive super bestselling writer, published a book about the art of writing called On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft about a dozen years ago, and it proved to be an immediate blockbuster. King spends the second half of the book revealing his writing tactics, such as his idea that you must compose for your “Ideal Reader,” after describing the tale of how he became the author he is present. Many critics have emphasized how essential this book is in examining a writer’s perspective and the various techniques in which a tale is born from inspiration. King advocated “writing with an open door,” or writing for oneself first and then revising with the audience in mind while composing a novel. It can be tough to get going on any creative work, yet there is pleasure in just beginning without caring about what others might think. After that, retouching will be your best mate. Even though this is a book about writing, King emphasizes the value of reading. He recommends carrying a book with you wherever you go because you cannot tell when you’ll have free time to read. He also recommended snippets of reading as well as scheduling time for longer reading periods.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield, Edited by Shawn Coyne
In The War of Art, the consistently best-selling handbook for authors and other creative professions, Steven Pressfield identified the adversary and presented a methodology for defeating it. He discusses what he refers to as “Resistance” in the opening portion of the novel. He defines it as the power within us that actively works to keep us from pursuing our creative goals and then focuses on the next two segments outlining how to overcome it. We’re all creators, and we’ve all gone through the ups and downs that come with being one. To get to where we want to travel in our creativity, we must confront our internal dread. Pressfield demonstrates how we must confront our concerns rather than allowing them to overcome us and giving in to struggle. Our creativity is afflicted by fear, which inhibits us from withdrawing the creative energies we require to produce. Above all, we must be open to criticisms, evaluations, and disappointments as creators. Even the most well-known artists have faced disapproval at some point. Consider all these rejections as fuel to strengthen your expertise and abilities and encourage you to adore and cherish your art all the more. God, the Cosmos, Enlightenment, Angels, and Supernatural Forces are all featured prominently in Pressfield’s The War of Art. Every morning, before actually starting his writing, Pressfield prays to the Muse. So, you’ll learn to battle for both your art and yourself through this book.
Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
This fascinating mix of realistic counsel and ethereal conviction about the strength of creativity and how tales find us when we give ourselves to them is brilliantly composed. This is something that all creatives may benefit from, particularly if they’ve lost contact with their muse, can’t get into the stream, or have abandoned belief in the power of motivation. We’ve all had dark times. This book is a beacon, pointing you in the right direction. Continue with it if you think it to be strange. Maybe at present, you’re undoubtedly someone who requires it by far the most. Anyone who wishes to live a fulfilling life should read this book. One would be foolish not to be motivated to be daring, independent, and curious. This well-known author delves into her creative process to impart her insights and distinct viewpoint on the subject. She delivers powerful thoughts into the hidden nature of imagination with tremendous compassion and beautiful kindness. She encourages us to appreciate our curiosities and let go of unnecessarily painful experiences. She demonstrates how to confront what we most enjoy as well as what we most dread. She talks about the mindsets, techniques, and behaviors that we need to be our most innovative selves. Gilbert invites us to seek the “strange treasures” that every one of us possesses. Big Magic unlocks a world of amazement and excitement whether we want to publish a book, create art, learn creative ways to confront issues at work, pursue a long-held ambition, or merely incorporate more thoughtfulness and enthusiasm into our daily lives.
A Writer’s Diary, by Virginia Woolf
The book is a priceless reference to Virginia Woolf’s work and thinking, compiled by her husband from her private journal, which she kept for twenty-seven years. There are notes about her own writing and pieces that are obviously writing practices, incidents of people and circumstances important to her work’s raw resources, and remarks on novels she was trying to read. We often imagine that talented authors, whose work has persisted and influenced us, sat at the desk and wrote full manuscripts of their masterpieces, memoirs, or articles with ease. We compare our awkward first manuscripts and partially framed ideas to them. This is the appropriate response: Woolf’s diary reveals the arduous labor, modifications, self-doubt, and research into creating a good collection of works. She portrays, probably more transparently than any other author, the beautiful pleasures and difficulties of artistic production in this piece. She makes the whole process look like a bittersweet love story.
Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird
Lamott presents the concept of Shitty First Drafts, which is one of many jewels in this work. These three aspects have rescued aspiring writers from the marsh many times than we can imagine, and the crux of the book is this: if you can’t write well, write terribly. Just write your ideas down on paper first, and then enhance them afterward. She promises, “All good authors write them.” “This is how they wind up with excellent second and third drafts.” Character, plot, conversation, setting – and recognizing when you’re done – are all covered in this book. There are also some excellent tasks to try and some outstanding passages of her own writing.
The Bottom Line
The skill to read, interpret and compose, or describing, in other words, the aptitude and potential to structure facts into a useful piece of knowledge, can be considered as a mental workout in this era of increasing information overload. Critical reading should be an important element of your writing routine. Finding work by other authors that fascinates, stimulates, or challenges you are beneficial and a never-ending stream of joy. Reading, like writing, is something you can do for the rest of your life. Connecting your reading to your writing technique is an essential part of reading as an author. However, avoid being overly mechanical in your approach. Do not restrict yourselves to novels or audio-visual pieces that you feel will be useful to your current project right away. Reading as a writer entails obeying your senses while staying receptive to surprises as much as searching out specific items. This post offered advice on how to improve your WRITING skills, with a heavy emphasis on READING. The two abilities are inextricably linked. Maybe you have noticed that reading more than anything is the best method to improve your writing skills. It turns out that the opposite is true as well. Reading is a necessary ability for survival. Reading is a powerful tool. Finally, reading extensively and thoughtfully will aid in the development of your own style and perspective.
