Dreaming Big
  • Home
    • Staff
    • Members Only
  • Contact
  • Our Books
    • Non Fiction
    • Fiction
    • Poetry
    • Children's Books
    • Audio Books
  • Coming Soon
  • Blog
  • Opportunities
    • Call For Submissions
    • Submissions Guidelines
    • FAQ
  • Gifts and More

'Three Reasons to Read Everything' by Connor Salter

4/11/2017

1 Comment

 

 
Three Reasons to Read Everything
By G. Connor Salter

I don’t really read books anymore. These days, I devour them. I have some genres I like coming back to, but I tend to read all kinds of books – anything from Sherlock Holmes to Christian memoirs to graphic novels. Not only has this helped me be a versatile book reviewer, it’s also helped me grow as a writer. Few people realize that if you want to write well you don’t just have to read a lot. You also have to read as broadly as possible.

There are three excellent reasons why reading broadly is so important:

1)You Find Your Unique Voice
Several writers (including the late William Zinsser [insert link: http://www.slideshare.net/GlennLeibowitz/the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip/5-Writing_is_learned_by_imitation]) have commented that your writing tends to sound like what you read.
 
This can be a great tool if you’re learning to write in a certain field. However, if you only read a narrow range of writers, you won’t develop a unique voice.
 
One of my writing mentors enjoys telling stories about someone he met at a writing conference who only read Ernest Hemingway and his stories sounded like second-rate Hemingway tales.
 
This explains why NY Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman commented in a 2011 podcast (insert link: http://nerdist.com/nerdist-podcast-106-neil-gaiman/) that writers must read outside their comfort zones.
 
“Read within that genre to understand what people are doing,” Gaiman advised, “but then go and read outside your comfort zone… [if] you like fantasy and you want to be the next Tolkien, don’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies. Tolkien didn’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies, he read books on Finnish philology.”
 
Every writer starts out imitating others’ work, writing in other writers’ voices. You need to outrun that as fast as you can, and one way you do that is by reading many different kinds of books.
 
2)You Get New Tools
Serious readers know that there is lots of variation in any genre -- compare a fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling with one by Stephen R. Donaldson, for example.
 
But even so, each genre tends to focus on certain things. There may be romance in a mystery novel, but since it’s about a mystery the novel will focus on mind games and plot advancement. By the same token, romance novels focus on passion over having an airtight plot.
 
By reading different kinds of books, you can learn what each genre emphasizes and then apply that knowledge to your own work. You pick up techniques you wouldn’t normally discover.
 
I discovered the value of this tactic when I wrote a sci-fi novella for a seminar. Another writer and I critiqued each other’s work, and one of the things she really praised me for was how I subtly introduced the story-world. I was able to smoothly tell readers where the story took place (an artificial planet in a distant future) and important facts (how the artificial planet came to be, the political forces controlling it) without slowing down the plot.
 
I didn’t learn this technique from science fiction novels. I learned it by reading the Cold War spy thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
 
3)You Might Join The Future
If you’ve ever seen a book proposal, you know publishers prefer books to fit in strict categories (genre, target age group) so they can market those books to specific audiences.
 
However, postmodern literature has done a lot to bring those categories down. Books that couldn’t have been published forty years ago – such as gothic novels for children (“Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events”) or sci-fi novels with a crime noir taste (“Neuromancer”) – have appeared on bestseller lists and won major awards.
 
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon noted in 2015 that we seem to be living in “the age of the mashup.” (insert link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeyjn3EaHAM)
 
This means that while there will always be a market for genre fiction, stories that borrow from and exist somewhere between multiple genres are commercially viable and currently very popular. By reading as broadly as possible you not only grow as a writer, you might create stories that piggyback on this exciting new market.
 
Reading broadly can feel weird if you’re not used to it. Remember that your goal is to be the best writer you can possibly be, and reading broadly helps you accomplish that.

If it helps, approach reading the way you did as a kid -- no idea what you like yet, just exploring. Read broadly, and enjoy whatever you discover.

​​Bio: Connor Salter is a freelance writer, currently studying Professional Writing at Taylor University. He writes weekly articles for the Odyssey and has contributed work to many publications, including the “Waynesdale News” and “US Represented.” You can check out his website at gcsalter.wordpress.com.
1 Comment
bestessays.com review link
4/13/2017 10:03:17 am

This is primarily the reason why I read everything. I might miss a few important details if I try to skip and skim what I'm reading. Also, you won't know if you're going to need the parts you've missed out. I really think that you've made some very valuable point in here. I'll definitely try to read everything from now on.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Parajunkee Design
    I review for BookLook Bloggers
    Professional Reader
    Book Reviewer Sign Up

    1888PressRelease
    YA Bound Book Tours

Services

Ask A Therapist
Blog
Our Books
Coming Soon

Company

About Us
Staff
​

Support

Contact
FAQ

Find and follow us on social media 
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.