Writing and reading: An inseparable bond
“If you want to be a?writer, you?must?do two things above all others:?read a lot and write a lot.” —Stephen King
Writing is a beautiful skill and reading, a crucial tool to master the skill.
Words, sentences, narratives, styles, plots, characters, themes, language can all be well understood through voracious reading. To craft an engaging read, the skill to blend the above elements would help to create the desired effects.
No craft can be pursued without the right dose of inspiration. And, what does writing do? It pours in inspiration. That can come in varied forms- an idea, a character trait, settings, plot twists, structuring the narratives. A writer does not only read a book, a novel or a story. They observe these forms ingrained in what they choose to read.
Reading enriches the vocabulary, the knowledge and has the prowess to take the readers to entire new worlds, new situations. That's how reading enriches the writing skills.
So, how can fiction reads help? Fiction sows empathy, fiction shows different perspectives enabling writers to give shape to realistic characters, taking writers to the depths of the story lines- where the characters, the situations, the solutions seem quite relatable.
It might seem strange to many, but writers also need to keep up with the emerging trends-just like any other field of world. Reading helps to understand the ongoing trends as well as what a present-day reader expects.
Can there be a better way to beat writer's block? Reading offers that mental break, sparking more creativity while going through the writer's block. As a writer, I have felt new ideas flowing as I pursued reading as one of the ways to tackle writer's block.
Do you resonate? Keep reading and enjoy your love for writing!