“There is creative reading as well as creative writing.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
While browsing the internet for inspiration and tips on how to improve my craft, I came across a bit of advice: If you want to write well, you need to read, a lot. Simple, right? Kind of a no-brainer..
I think I always knew this, but somewhere along the way, I forgot. I grew up with a voracious appetite for the written word. Books sustained me, I couldn’t get enough. I would read these beautifully written passages and wonder how the authors packed so much meaning and detail into them.
But then, I just stopped. I stopped reading, and, eventually, I stopped writing.
It wasn’t until my last year of high school that I took up the habit again. I rediscovered the wonder that a reader is afforded: wonder at the landscapes, the details, the characters. Reading great literature is like peeking into the mind of some great author and seeing how it works, how the ideas come together, how problems arise and how they are solved.
It’s easy to get discouraged about writing when you feel that you can’t express the most important details and remain true to your subject. But when you’re armed with an arsenal of knowledge, knowledge of what works and what doesn’t it’s easier to start, to keep going, and to perfect your writing.
The Making of a Writer 