Writers Should Also Be Readers

Quotes on why writers should also be readers:

"Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window."

--William Faulkner

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

--Stephen King

Cultivate above all things a taste for reading.

– Robert Lowe, Speech to the Students of the Croydon Science and Art Schools

We expect a great man to be a good reader. 

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am a writer. I am also a reader. Writing and reading are partners in my thinking. They go together like salt and pepper, milk and cookies, or beer and pretzels. One enhances the other. 

I always urge beginning writers to read as often as possible. We learn a great deal about writing by reading books others have written. We find ways of writing that we like and some that we vow to steer clear of. 

Note that William Faulkner tells us to read everything--the good and the bad to see how others write. He says we'll 'absorb' what we read and then we can write. Makes sense to me. 

I love Stephen King's quote. He lays it on the line, no ifs, ands, or buts. He is blunt but truthful. You'll note he mentions having the time to read. Time for both reading and writing are important. Make the time. Be creative. If you're a commuter, what better thing to occupy the mindless time than reading? If television bores you, read. If you can't sleep, read. Get up a little earlier or go to bed a little later to gain some reading time.

Robert Lowe tells us to cultivate a taste for reading. I contend that the more you read, the greater the desire to continue. If you're not a natural reader, you can become one. You might have to work at it, but doing so will be to your benefit.

The final quote is interesting. Mr. Emerson does not say he 'hopes' a great man will be a good reader. He tells we should 'expect' it. It's a given in his estimation. I like that. 

Do you know a writer who does not read? I have met only one. I must admit that she was a fine writer, but I have always thought she would have been even better if she'd been a reader, too.