My passion for all things literary sprang from a love affair with reading and grew up to embrace a love of writing. Today, I am at least as much a reader as I am a writer. I read for pleasure, but I also read to learn. There is no better classroom for the writer than the pages of a well-written story. By reading like a writer, we can learn the magic of our craft by example.
Each week, the teacher of the Grub Street class I attended this summer invited her students to bring a “perfect sentence” to share with the class. At first, the exercise seemed like a bit of fluff; but as I combed through favorite books for particularly striking lines, I came to see the value in it. Consciously being on the lookout for sentences that made my writer’s heart sing inspired me to read more carefully, more consciously. Reading was still the most exquisite form of escape and entertainment, but now it had another layer of enjoyment – the study of what makes good writing.
In some ways, a story is like a tree.
We look upon a tree and appreciate its beauty, the sound of the wind in its leaves, the shade it provides on a sultry day. We are thankful for the fruit it bears, for the strength of the boughs that hold up a swing. We perceive the tree as a singular entity, a whole. But, if we look more closely, we begin to see that there are many pieces to the tree. There are the roots that dig deep, down into the earth and spread out underground like thousands of curious fingers. There is an intricate and elegant system of channels within the tree – carrying nutrients and water and sap. There are the leaves, with their alchemy of photosynthesis. There are blossoms and fruit – blooming and ripening, evolving one into the other before our eyes. There are seasonal changes – the budding of spring, bursting of summer, harvesting of fall, and dormancy of winter.
Suddenly, the tree is no longer just a tree. It is a vast collection of individual pieces and parts that are connected into an organic harmony via a complex ecosystem. We can see, as if we have X-ray vision, all the inner workings – how the leaves rely on the roots and how the roots must have good soil. We know what makes the leaves whisper in the wind and why they change color in the fall. We understand each of the tree’s parts in the context of the whole.
Reading like a writer gives you similar insights into the nature of story.
You become aware of the shape of each “leaf,” see the roots that hold the story up, and understand how all the pieces – character, plot, conflict, language, and so on – come together to create a single, cohesive experience that carries the reader away.
Although I still love to get lost in a good story, I now read with two minds. On the one hand, I am simply a girl going on adventure in the pages of a book. On the other hand, I am a writer, studying the inner workings of good writing –dissecting author’s choices and execution. I pay attention to characterization, setting, plot, and theme. I notice and appreciate particular touches of scene construction, voice, and dialog. Learning by example brings me a whole new level of understanding that sticks with me when I sit down to write. In fact, I may start keeping a writer’s journal of examples to help inspire me when I get stuck.
How about you? Do you read with a writer’s eye? Do you keep a collection of favorite sentences, characters, examples of scene setting? Do you think reading makes you a better writer?
Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.
.
Image Credit: José Manuel Ríos Valiente
Hi, thanks for sharing. As an aspiring author wannabe I now read more and more with the eye of someone who also writes. I got a lot of good inspiration from the book with the very name “Reading like a writer”, by Francine Prose.
Thanks for the book tip – I’ll have to check that out. I’m sure there are many approaches. I’m just starting to bring this extra element to my reading, but I am already learning so much. There’s something about seeing the craft “in action,” so to speak, that makes the lessons “stick.”
Love this. I enjoy keeping track of sentences that stick out at me as being really good.
I think it’s something I’m going to start doing, Amelia – a sort of inspirational collection of words-done-right.
In class, we also talked a little bit about exactly WHY we liked a particular sentence – was it the cadence, the word choice, the way it provided excellent characterization, how it moved the story forward elegantly? Understanding what makes you love one sentence over another can really help you grasp the types of skills you need to create your own “perfect” sentences.
Good luck!
Excellent Article! As a partner in a public relations firm…reading is one of the most important ingredients to our success!
Would love to hear more about what kind of reading helps with your PR work. Is it reading fiction, or the press materials of others?
The reading is geared specific to a client need, topic, issue and intended audience.
We tend not to read press materials of others.
In general however we tend to read J.R.R. Tolkien, Historical, Poetry-Epic Poems, G.K. Chesterton, Socio-Economic, Political, Philosophy.
Fascinating. Thanks for the additional details. Have you read this great post from PR maven Gini Dietrich? http://spinsucks.com/entrepreneur/reading-fiction-helps-your-career/
I love your posts! With each one I learn something new. You are very talented and full of useful insight. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us!
Well, thanks, Courtney. Glad to have you here.
That’s a lovely analogy, the story as a tree. I’m beginning to see what you mean, as I continue to write more and see the more complex inner workings of the books I’m reading. I think I’m learning to read like a writer, and yet keeping the pure reader-mind as well, like you mentioned. Reading with two minds… I like that. Great post!
Thank you, Elizabeth.
The analogy of the tree came to me quite suddenly as I was sitting at my desk gazing out the window at a battered, old oak. There are so many beautiful metaphors in nature.
Like you, I want to keep the “pure” reader-mind as well. I think this is why I often read favorite books multiple times – the first time I allow myself to be swept away, the second time I dig deeper into the mechanics.
Happy reading – either way!
Re: “Fascinating. Thanks for the additional details. Have you read this great post from PR maven Gini Dietrich?” Exactly! We lament the state of reading, comprehension and thought in society today… When we bring someone into our PR Network their reading habits are reviewed, carefully.
Glad you liked it. I adore Gini for many reasons beyond her PR savvy.
Loved your article. A perfect example of good reading is “The Longest Trip Home,” a memoir. I had read it earlier but thought I ought to re-read it since we have it for our book club this month. I knew it was a good read from before, but in the first three chapters, I found myself laughing out loud more often than not. John Grogan (also the author of Marley and Me) is so brutally honest it is refreshing. He is certainly carrying this reader away. And to be clear about it, he is no relation to me, nor have I ever met or corresponded with him. The most beautiful part of it is that it is real life and his real experiences. I think your idea of keeping a writer’s journal of examples is a perfect idea.
Hi, Sara!
I’ve just added “The Longest Trip Home” to my (very long) reading list. I never read Marley and Me because I didn’t want to cry, but I’ve heard such good things about Grogan as an author, I’m delighted to know of something else that I can try.
Brutal honesty certainly is refreshing. I think that’s what most writers are trying to get to – carving away all the extraneous material to get down to the gooey center where things really matter. It’s a life-long pursuit, no doubt; but one worth the effort.
Glad you like the writer’s journal idea. Still undecided if mine will be digital or handwritten … may try both.
Your description of the tree as a multi faceted thing is inspiring and I will hold onto that image when I write from now on. I do remember sentances and descriptions that delight me as I read, they make me try harder to bring that delight to my readers.
Wonderful, Mandy. (That’s my sister’s name!)
I’m so glad that the tree image works for you. Keep finding and saving those little literary gems. I hope they bring you much inspiration.
Happy writing!
Reading as a writer? Yes!!! I remember a passage in Smilla’s Sense of Snow (Peter Hoeg) in which a character was described as sifting someone’s thoughts as if putting tea leaves through a strainer – and that phrase has stayed with me. Others have come after, but that was the first time I thought ‘aha – that is a line so lovely I’d like to hold onto it.’
This is a wonderful post, Jamie!!
Thank you, Ruth – for the lovely compliment and for sharing that line. Fabulous. The power of words to captivate our minds is amazing. There are whole worlds that live inside my head because of an author’s ability to craft those just-right sentences that lodged in my brain.
Here’s to holding on to the lovely bits.
Cheers!
In every book I read, I try not to be overly critical in the beginning. Like looking at a painting in a museum, I allow myself to “feel” my first impression. Give it time to sink in. If I like what I’m reading, I become immersed, and read for pleasure, but also know when something has struck a chord. I don’t pick a piece apart for structure or style, looking for the ways rules have been broken or misinterpreted. Intuitively, a good sentence nearly always make me stop dead in my tracks, makes me pause to meditate on its content in some way – either by offering me a perspective I never considered before, or sparking a memory, or eliciting a new idea tucked in the recesses of my mind. (Funny, huh…how those nooks and crannies hold so much stuff that someone else’s words dig up?) Sometimes, if its a especially rare gem, I will say it outloud a few times, paying homage to the author who wrote it.
THEN, and only then, do I STUDY it. I admire it like I do the painting – all the nuances, the subtleties and above all, the skill that’s gone into producing it.
I know mastering the rules is necessary, but a technically perfect sentence may not stop me dead in my tracks so I let my intuition lead. So far, it hasn’t let me down!
Love the analogy of appreciating a painting, Laura. That’s perfect.
I agree – there’s HUGE value in enjoying the story for the story FIRST … and then delving into what’s under the hood, so to speak.
I have taken quite seriously the advice that to be a great writer, one must be a great reader. My daily work schedule includes not only writing, but also reading an average of 50 pages a day… about a book a week. Usually I read more!
I’m just starting to rev my reading engines after a long dry spell. It feels SO good to immerse myself in a good book … even if only for a few pages at a time. It definitely helps inspire and educate my writer’s mind.
I think reading makes me a better lots of things.
Agreed. We learn much from the craft AND from the words and stories themselves.
Lovely writing. I really enjoyed reading your post. Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to say so, Katrina.
I was never really a writer before but I have become so inspired by what I read, it has cause me to analyze stories more closely and learn from them. I write now because I did not know how to express myself before but the more I read the more I learned that what we write are outward expressions of inner thoughts. Thoughts that are manifested formulate our character. I learned through reading that what you write speaks volumes about your character. I’m learning everyday…every book…every thought…my character is challenged!
Never stop learning! Love that attitude!
Without a doubt, I believe that reading makes a better writer. And I’d like to add to that, a level of maturity that – at age 50 – I’ve finally evolved to. I’ve always been a reader, but not so much a reader reading with a writer’s eye. Stephen King was the first author I leaned on for entertainment. I’d skip passages of backstory, character development or anything that I felt at the time was taking me away from the action. Consequently as a writer, that’s come back to bite me in the butt. I discovered that I had no patience in writing the very parts of a longer story that I used to skip.
I’ve jumped, and continue to jump that hurdle by making myself slow down and read the whole story, not just the exciting parts. 
Thank you for this post.
Such a wonderful point! We do appreciate the craft more the more we understand about the underpinnings of a good story … and vice versa. Once you can see the layers and intricacies for what they are, you begin to savor each piece of the story for its own sake.
Thanks for the addition!
[...] Jamie at Live to Write – Write to Live wrote a post entitled: Reading Like a Writer, which is all about learning how to write by picking stuff up while [...]
[...] Jamie Wallace: I confess that I find it difficult to completely turn off my inner analyst. I don’t usually take physical notes, but I do definitely notice different techniques and turns of phrase. Sometimes, this makes me a little crazy and I wish I could just silence all that chatter completely. Other times, I wish I had a pen and notebook handy so I could jot down some of the particular bits that stand out for me – as future reference for my own work. I don’t see one way of reading as being better than another, but I do think there is something to be said for simply letting the story sweep you away. (I wrote more about this in my post, Reading like a writer.) [...]