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Reading Is the Best Thing a Writer Can Do
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What A Writer Reads Influences The Way They Write.
The best way to become a talented writer is to read as much as possible, and reading well-written books and stories will help you develop your ability to write faster. Just like with any other skill, we can improve our writing by studying what we do well and what we don’t do so well and improving on those things through learning from other writers who have done it better than us before.
Developing your own writing style can be hard when you are just starting out, but it gets easier with practice. What many new writers don’t realize, however, is that the authors that they read also influenced them. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that every author I have read has impacted how I write.
You Are Who You Read
It might be a cliché, but it’s true: No matter what else happens, books shape the world around you. Books have been my friends throughout the entirety of my life. In fact, I would argue that books are more influential now than they were when I was younger. Reading has taught me everything from how to write better stories to how to be a better person. There are books aimed at improving your craft (See 10 Great Books We Love About Writing), while other books do so by nature of being well written.
So often in my life, I have stopped reading a passage to appreciate how the words fit together. The writing was so good that I would stop and take notes on why it made me feel a certain way or why I enjoyed it. Most of the time it seems to be a sort of elusive magic – a prize worth chasing if you ask me.
No matter what type of writer you are, take some time out of your day and read something from an author you don’t often read. Don’t focus on plot or characters, just enjoy reading their words with no expectation about what comes next. It will influence your own writing in unexpected ways over time because every author you read informs the way you write.
Here are some of the most influential authors in my writing career so far…
Kurt Vonnegut
As an American fiction writer, we know Vonnegut for stories that blend satire, black comedy and science fiction. His best-known works include Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat’s Cradle (1963) and Hocus Pocus (1990). Many of his stories feature absurdist plots and dark humor, but he also published several essays on morals.
In 1991, he made TIME magazine’s list of The 20th Century’s Most Influential People and I list him here, among those writers who helped me form my craft. Kurt Vonnegut helped many of us become writers by reminding us we all have a voice. He did not just write with style but with substance; he didn’t just pen novels but fought to make people think more deeply about life.
Through his prose he wrote about human nature—our strengths, our weaknesses, our foibles. His books offered powerful insights into humanity and made you wonder: are you doing enough? Are you helping other people enough? Are you aware of what’s going on around you enough? Or are you wrapped up in your own narrow view of things? Vonnegut’s writing shaped generations of writers, not just because it was edgy or unique but because it was something to strive for.
He didn’t just tell stories; he told them with punch and heart. The best way to honor him is to remember why we read. It’s so we can be better at being humans, who all too often forget that there is much more out there than ourselves. We read to learn from others and then spread their wisdom back out into the world.
Susanna Clarke
Author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke is one of my favorite authors. She writes her books in detailed and fleshed out worlds that captivate you from page one. Every time I finish one of her books, I want to pick up another just so I can immerse myself in her worlds again. Her writing style is both whimsical and purposeful at once. It is like reading a dream-state combined with history lessons which is something I love. There’s an element of magic in everything she writes, even when there isn’t anything fantastical happening, she’ll make it feel like there is something magical lurking around every corner or within every word on each page.
Clarke not only creates intricate and fascinating worlds filled with multiple levels of hidden intricacies but also brings those worlds to life as if they were existing places we could visit. She has such a way with words, as though they come alive as soon as she puts them down on paper (or digital file…whichever works for her). She makes the journey enjoyable without making it simple—there’s always layers upon layers beneath what seems obvious.
Jack London
Jack London was an American author whose realist works brought him fame. His best-known works, which include White Fang and The Call of the Wild, celebrate friendship and nature. Both fiction and nonfiction authors have learned from Jack London’s writing style. As far as fictional works are concerned – Jack London has impacted many writers – most notably Cormac McCarthy – who wrote No Country for Old Men. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re working in—London was famous for his ability to tell a story that captured your attention from beginning to end. If you want to become a more engaging writer or are just looking for some tips on how to improve your own techniques, try reading some of his books.
When I was young, my mother would read Call of the Wild to me at bedtime. It is one of my earliest memories of a writer personifying an animal without making it a characterization. Anyone who writes with images will find Jack London’s work influential—because while words get your story across in writing, they don’t always tell enough on their own.
Stephen King
Most people think of horror when they think of Stephen King, but I think of The Bachman Books. Each book was a pseudonym that King used as an opportunity to write whatever he wanted without being constrained by his reputation as a horror writer. In these books, you will find stories with a variety of subjects from Romance, Crime/Mystery and more!
These books have been influential in my writing because they helped me see how many stories can be told from a single plot line or event. King proves that just because you have a classic plot line doesn’t mean it has been told before and is no longer relevant for today’s audience. He also helps me understand how not all genres have to be filled with action and violence all the time, some just need well-crafted characters and interesting situations for them to talk themselves out of!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the ever influential On Writing: A Memoir of a Craft by Stephen King. This book changed my writing outlook because it helped me understand every reader is unique and no two will have identical experiences reading your work. It taught me to show instead of telling, to embrace descriptions and how to weave them into a story in order for them to come alive for my readers! In short, it taught me that what I thought was unnecessary description was important for another reader to immerse themselves in my worlds.
Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler’s book Kindred is one of my favorite books of all time. Not only does it have a strong lead, but it also has an interesting concept. I don’t want to give away too much here, because you should read it if you haven’t. I was 14 when I read Kindred for the first time, and it changed my perspective on writing. If you love science fiction and/or fantasy, then you will enjoy Octavia Butler.
As an author, her work is original, accomplished, and compulsively readable. I love reading how she would write an entire book before going back to revise it. It forced her to stay organized and think through her ideas. Instead of revising as she wrote, she would have to just pick a time when she had nothing else on her plate and dive in to read over everything again without editing or writing anything new. This allowed her to stay focused on both keeping things realistic but also keep a consistent voice throughout her stories. It’s something that I try to practice myself while writing my own novels.
Zora Neal Hurston
Considered one of the foremost black writers of her time, Zora Neal Hurston was a novelist, short story writer, folklorist and anthropologist. If you’re trying to learn how to write fiction, her work is worth looking into; Hurston’s novels painted vivid portraits of African-American life in Florida during and after slavery and often challenged widely held racist views about blacks.
Her short stories depicted black men and women as whole human beings who were independent from whites—and who took care of themselves foremost. She traveled throughout Africa (as well as Haiti) with American expatriate author Langston Hughes. Both trips informed her work, particularly her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, which centers on Janie Crawford, an outspoken black woman living in rural Florida whose husband abandons her after she loses her sight.
It was controversial to write about African American women in such a positive light, but Hurston fought against racism and other political issues head on. We respect her as one of America’s best storytellers for good reason. She published four novels and dozens of short stories during her lifetime, along with personal essays and anthropological work from travels to Haiti and Africa. Her life spanned over 60 years, which is impressive considering how much ground she covered in that time. No matter how great an author is, they are constantly striving to improve their craft. I learned from Hurston how to be persistent in my work and also maintain humility through all of my experiences as a writer.
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science-fiction writer. Often called the dean of science fiction writers, he is one of the most influential and controversial authors of genre fiction. He set a standard for scientific and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre’s standards of literary quality. He was one of a group of writers who came to prominence under the influence of editor John W. Campbell, and together they defined what became known as hard science fiction.
As a writer and especially as a science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein is an icon. He’s a household name in that industry, even for people who don’t read science fiction. His influence on me as a writer was to write about what I know about and to never make something up if you can learn it elsewhere. He also has influenced my style through his use of language and description; some days I wish I could weave words together like he did (and did often).
Walter Mosley
One of my biggest influences in terms of writing fiction is Walter Mosley. In fact, much of my early writing is derivative of Mosley’s because he opened up a world for me, I had never imagined before. As you can tell from reading his books, he’s an amazing writer with a flair for dialogue and character development. I think one thing that stands out about his work is the simple prose: he’s able to convey complex situations and emotions using very simple words and sentences.
A writer’s goal isn’t only telling marvelous stories but also being able to do it in as few words as possible. Mosley shows that prose should be effective on the page – it can look pretty in the reader’s mind. He also shows how technique works hand-in-hand with content—something many aspiring writers lack. For example, his ability to use monologues and run dialogues simultaneously conveys what happens in many genuine conversations: people interrupt each other all of time—especially when they’re passionate about what they have to say, or they have strong opinions on opposing views.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novels and comics have influenced countless people to write. His most famous works include: Coraline, American Gods, and Stardust. His stories span across many genres, but each of them provides a unique, imaginative view of reality. This kind of creativity is something I strive for when writing fiction novels. He tells wonderful stories that are engaging and emotional, while still maintaining its captivating quality. I would not be where I am without Neil Gaiman’s influence on me as a writer. There is no other author like him and never will be.
When reading his novel Coraline, it was an incredible experience for me because it presented such a sense of realism compared to other books. This allowed for any reader, whether they were young or old, to relate with what he was saying and brought about such an amazing story. This book showed me how great imagination can make you feel you’re in another world—one that feels familiar and brand new at the same time.
Edgar Allen Poe
I credit Edgar Allan Poe as one of, if not, the greatest short story writers. It is said that everything Poe wrote had an underlying theme. His stories were often dark and gritty, with an underlying message or moral point. Many of his works were intended to make you think about life and question your own existence. His tales still feel darkly alluring even years since their first publication. No other writer quite reached out from beyond with such influence over writers and thinkers of every generation.
Known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of America’s earliest practitioners of short fiction and a central figure in romanticism in both American and world literature. He is also, and more obviously, a central figure in horror literature. All of Poe’s stories remain timeless classics even today. Poe could develop the simple, often pedestrian aspects of Victorian life into full statements on the trials of living. It can be said that every writer that picked up a pen after reading any of Poe’s works feels his influence.
-R.E.