Here are my 3 key tips for those of you who want to write.
- Read
- Read a lot
- Read a lot of different things
I’ve always read a lot. There were few books in our house while I was growing up yet somehow I became an avid reader as soon as I could read. I still recall being given my first “reader” to take home from school and told to read page one by the following week. I read the whole book in two days and then wanted to exchange it for another one.
People in my writing classes often thanked me for ‘giving them permission’ to read at home and for giving them the gift of re-connecting with novels because reading for sheer pleasure often felt like a luxury.
As for me, I certainly do read a lot of novels. I also read business books, all manner of other non-fiction books, magazines and newspapers. I absorb how training materials are written. I read offline, online and also listen – to the radio, the news, and the way a film dialogue unfolds. But mainly I like the physical, printed format and holding a book in my hand. Libraries and book shops are places of wonder.
So, my advice is simple. If you want to get in the flow when you write, read a wide variety of materials.
Absorb the sounds, feel the rhythm. Visualise the picture that the words paint for you.
And if you aspire to a certain style, then read material in that style. So, if you want to write with humour perhaps read Clive James, Michael Palin or Guy Browning.
Take time out to read, to lose yourself in some inspiring prose or poetry, a page-turning tale or two.
You will experience a natural lift in at least some areas of your writing. And you will experience other benefits too as you divert your mind from it’s habitual busy chatter and allow your subconscious some creative space.
Why not choose something to read this week that’s at least a little different or unusual for you?
