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To become a better writer, read as much as you can

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Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#21

Post by plastic3169 »

randomImmigrant wrote: post #15

I had an odd sense when reading that article… the sense that we’re in truly bizarre times, that such obvious advice needs to be given at all. That people in general don’t read, I get. But if you don’t read, why would you want to write? Baffling!

It’s the same phenomenon, but I got similar strnge feeling when reading an article from the atlantic about film students who are incapable of sitting through films[0]. Why would you study to make art in a form you don’t even enjoy yourself?

[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/college-students-m...

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#22

Post by fullstackchris »

Mostly agree, but one very small caveat—the books we all get to enjoy as readers have been through (presumably) beta readers, agent edits, and then publisher edits, and even then a line editor as well. All those hidden decisions you will not be able to learn until you do them.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#23

Post by sixtyj »

js2 wrote: post #18

Hugh Howey on becoming a writer: > Insight #4: The best writers are the best readers. There aren’t any shortcuts around this. Successful writers read. They read a lot. And the best writers read a wide variety of books. It’s impossible to stress the importance of this insight. When aspiring authors ask my advice on making it as a writer, this is my most common first response: Read. https://hughhowey.com/writing-insigh…

This is awesome.

> And I’m not even a good example of proper work ethic. I have friends who write, revise, edit, and publish a novel a month. Year after year. I have friends who have published over fifty novels in their first handful of years of writing. Both of my friends who publish a book a month make millions of dollars a year, and they are among the best writers I know when it comes to craft. I can’t put their books down. They pass like Messi.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#24

Post by iainctduncan »

SunOrbiter1 wrote: post #16
iainctduncan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are quoting him out of context. That was directed at wannabe-writers who don't make time to read . Which is completely fucking batshit crazy. If anyone deserves some f-bombs, it's them. Additionally, the very next sentence is "Joking. I would never say that. But I certainly fucking think it."

Who exactly is the advice for? For those who don't read, right? In that case, how does abusing them help? There's another golden rule about treating people the way--can't quite recall it, hmmm... Casual obscenity has become so normalized in the culture, you probably feel outraged I'm even bringing it up. Not reading has also become normalized in just the same manner. No one reads if they can at all help it-- not at w…

The article is about writers, not regular people. It's explicitly directed at people trying to make a living writing.

We found it because of HN, but his audience - the only one's who's opinion he should give a shit about - are his readers, who presumably know him because of his (according to the article) Raymond Chandler-influenced sci fi. I'm willing to bet those people are not put off by some swearing. :-)

If you are trying to make a living writing you should a) be fucking reading and b) appreciate all the wild and wonderful facets of language.. like using a good cuss word for deliberately over the top emphasis.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#25

Post by left-struck »

richardatlarge wrote: post #19

Many hundreds of hours of reading will build your vocabulary, and tune your ear to the sound of a good sentence. But it will not make you a writer. Reading as a person wanting to become a better writer should be more conscience of what they are reading. I often finish a novel and can't even remember if it was narrated, or how. That is not careful reading. I've heard of authors who, went waiting for their muse, just c…

I think the premise of the article is more that it would be extraordinarily difficult to become a good writer if you didn’t read much.

Because from the article: > One of the key things I’ve learned is this: there’s no real blueprint.

So to me it’s saying there’s a lot of different ways to cook this stew but it always requires this ingredient

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#26

Post by theokrueger »

SunOrbiter1 wrote: post #16
iainctduncan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are quoting him out of context. That was directed at wannabe-writers who don't make time to read . Which is completely fucking batshit crazy. If anyone deserves some f-bombs, it's them. Additionally, the very next sentence is "Joking. I would never say that. But I certainly fucking think it."

Who exactly is the advice for? For those who don't read, right? In that case, how does abusing them help? There's another golden rule about treating people the way--can't quite recall it, hmmm... Casual obscenity has become so normalized in the culture, you probably feel outraged I'm even bringing it up. Not reading has also become normalized in just the same manner. No one reads if they can at all help it-- not at w…

the author's mildly profane remarks were an amusing expression of the authors voice that characterizes their perspective better than without it.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#27

Post by richardatlarge »

left-struck wrote: post #25
richardatlarge wrote: post #19

Many hundreds of hours of reading will build your vocabulary, and tune your ear to the sound of a good sentence. But it will not make you a writer. Reading as a person wanting to become a better writer should be more conscience of what they are reading. I often finish a novel and can't even remember if it was narrated, or how. That is not careful reading. I've heard of authors who, went waiting for their muse, just c…

I think the premise of the article is more that it would be extraordinarily difficult to become a good writer if you didn’t read much. Because from the article: > One of the key things I’ve learned is this: there’s no real blueprint. So to me it’s saying there’s a lot of different ways to cook this stew but it always requires this ingredient

Necessarily but not sufficient, yes

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#28

Post by ingvay7 »

wcfrobert wrote: post #9

Completely agree! I find writing deeply memetic - in that I often catch myself imitating the flow, style, word choices, punctuation and grammar of whatever reading material I'm currently immersed in. This unfortunately does not bode well for my writing ability as I read emails and Claude output all day. Recently, I've been reading a lot of building codes and compliance documents and I've develop annoying ticks like u…

> I often catch myself imitating the flow, style,

Its a struggle trying to "imitate the style" in writing. In music, you could keep playing all the songs in the style of your favorite artist and possible develop a close stylistic proximity to what you're imitating but in writing do you just write prose with the same wordings? i get the keep reading to develop your style but feels like adapting a style you want to master and then make your own variant is way harder in writing.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#29

Post by raincole »

> I would’ve thought the necessity of reading in this profession obvious. But I’ve noticed a worrying trend lately: aspiring writers who don’t read.

I know it's a very bad thing to say out loud, but if even aspiring writers, those who care so much that they go to writing workshops, have stopped reading, it's a very strong signal that writing/publishing won't be a viable profession in the near future anymore.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#30

Post by gmueckl »

YuechenLi wrote: post #20

A lot of time I'm not very confident in what I wrote because I have a tendency to ramble and not get to the point quickly. Reading helps, but it's more about style, doesn't help me express myself more eloquently at all. Another thing is that I find myself using AI-isms in daily conversations more and more the more I use them to help me code. "Load-baaring" and "not X but Y" are phrases that I actively have to catch m…

Rambling is OK as long as you can treat the result as a draft that you can refine. I've often written emails that were three paragraphs in the first draft and 5 lines after deliberate revision. And the shorter revision was always much better.
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