Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

nappertime.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 280 posts

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

#31

Post by ron_k »

raincole wrote: post #29

> 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.

I’m not sure your conclusion necessarily follows from the premise. There are aspiring writers who care about writing and/or publishing, and writers who care about literature. The formers usually are weaker readers. However, most of the readers don’t want to become writers.

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

#32

Post by watwut »

plastic3169 wrote: post #21
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...

That article is about them not wanting to sit through long boring slow paced movies assigned in school. And they scroll the phone a lot. And they wamt to watch them at home, not in class.

That is NOT the same as being incapable to sit through a general movie. That does not mean they dont like film in general.

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

#33

Post by gmueckl »

SunOrbiter1 wrote: post #3

"To which I say this: fuck you, you’re not too busy." What's with the abuse? Is that the hallmark of a great writer as well? Fuck this, fuck that. Pathetic. That said, good advice. Mediocre readers are mediocre writers. The reverse is not necessarily true. I've met many fantasy writers (hello Readercon!) who've read every damn series and then proceed to write yet another Tolkienesque knockoff. Their brains are pretty…

Any accomplished writer is keenly aware of the tone of voice they choose. So if they use profanity, assume that it's a deliberate expression. In this case, it's their way of expressing how low they think of the idealized stereotype of aspiring writers that don't read, rather than a particular person. It's very obviously not aimed at any one existing person. If you assume that this is a directed personal attack, then you're misreading the text.

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

#34

Post by iainctduncan »

ngruhn wrote: post #6
aetherspawn wrote: post #2

Woah. Reading this blog post was like being transported 5 years back prior to the existence of AI. It reeks of pure humanity.

agree, despite the em dashes.

you mean, because of the em dashes? Five years ago I was happil using them without having to worry about this bullshit. sigh

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

#35

Post by ciconia »

A while ago I took under my wing so to speak the neighbor's kid who plays the clarinet at the local music school, but apparently has listened to very little music (at music school he only gets instrument lessons and some music theory.) I had him listen to a wide range of classical music, just to give him a taste, and see what interests him. I told him: a musician who doesn't listen to music is like a writer who doesn't read books. It's not only the craft, it's also the culture that those works embody, and the feeling of belonging to a tradition.

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

#36

Post by chistev »

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 before getting to the point could be your signature style if you do it well.

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

#37

Post by juleiie »

I am not so much a writer but someone who loves how words can paint miniature splinters of reality.

Operating these little diskettes that load programs straight into the receiver’s brain.

I feel like Joseph Goebbels of fictional worlds. Writing a code that will smoothly execute delusion - “This is real, this really could happen. I want to see where it goes next.”

If words are just source code for human brain then I wonder, when using an LLM - do you really program it or does it rather program you?

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

#39

Post by Freak_NL »

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…

Your environment has a huge influence on your language, which is why the advice for anyone writing given here (read, read a lot) is not only sensible but indispensable.

LLM tropes are one thing, but before those came along you could easily see how someone working in a corporate office would pick up jargon there even if they loath it. Here on HN you can observe certain phrases and words which seem to be part of what some IT professionals use — like the horridly angular orthogonal used figuratively.

Reading prose written by writers who live outside of such bubbles (or who simply have a good editor in addition to their own filtering) is an antidote to that.

Working on stylistic issues is a conscious self improvement thing, but you leverage your many hours of reading when you're tackling that. Reading a lot means you unconsciously get good at judging which prose works well and which grates.

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

#40

Post by d--b »

Reading disturbs my writing greatly though.

I tend to mimic the author I am reading, it’s annoying.

If I change the book I read while writing something, my text changes tone in the middle.

I am not a good writer, and I don’t read that much, so maybe that trend goes away when you write a lot, but it’s a pitfall worth knowing

Post reply on HN