In The Demon's Head: the Importance of Reading

 

In The Demon's Head #36: The Importance of Reading

July 10, 2012

Hello everyone, it's been nearly a month since my last post and I must apologize for that. I moved and finally am now behind the computer and I have to admit it feels greater then I thought possible, I'm hoping that by this weekend I can begin editing again which is awesome, in the meantime though I'm going to be attempting to catch up on the few post that I had scheduled in the time I was away so I can stay on track.

Today's post is, like all of my other ones centered around writing and how to improve your writing. As I sat down to write out the calendar for the blog I was trying to figure out what subjects would fit best at the best times and this is one that never seems to get old, what the importance of reading means for your writing.

Some people will read the last sentence of that paragraph and say that it's a complex, or a contradictory statement. But I want you to start thinking of your writing in a completely different light. Your writing is created from your mind which processes everything that you see, hear, touch, taste and smell. These senses are ones that no doubt need to fuel everything you write but what does this have to do with reading?

Go through and read almost anything ever written. Generally it's all centered around the five senses. Also, reading continues to improve your understanding of everything and how stories could be structured. I wrote my first 4 short stories before I had ever sat down to read anything that I could remember longer then a week. And between me and you those stories downright sucked.

There were a couple that were just crap. The other two were full fledged stories with a decent plot line but the details and everything in them were just kinda falling short of anything. I was proud of them and would love to still have them but I lost the disk sometime ago. The reason I tell you this story is because it's one that has managed to help me for the longest of times.

Here's the challenge, I want you to read everything, good works, horrible works, everything in between. Why? Because if you read a good work of fiction then your going to know what you want to strive for as you write your work. If you read a crappy book then you know what you don't want your story to disintegrate into. So after reading this, go out read everything, watch TV, study everything writing and learn good from bad and start writing and improving your craft.

Until the next time you take a trip through the gates of hell and into the demon's head I'm Kyle Robinson wishing you a safe trip back to the surface. I'd also like to let you know that you can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus and finally you can subscribe to the the blog by putting your email address in the box in the upper right corner.