“All great writers are great readers.”

I was recently talking to a best-selling author about students we sometimes run across who say they don’t read very often. We both looked at each other and told them, as if they were standing right in front of us, “Then your writing will never improve.”

It’s as simple as that. Every successful writer I know is a voracious and diverse reader. How else do we learn about style and what’s possible with sentence structure, phrase, and tone? Reading inspires— it gets us to the page and reminds us how we would say it (write it) differently. And don’t ever say you don’t have time to read; you need to make time in order to become a better writer.

Reading is critical to your success as a writer. Any kind of quirky, innovative writing can inform your own. To be a great reader, and therefore a great writer, one needs to read at three primary levels:

• The big picture
• Characters
• The sentence

As you’re reading, highlight passages and words that reflect the value of each of these elements. By careful and engaged reading, you will pick up the tricks of the writing trade.

Interested in learning more? Check out the new online writing course The Master Class for Successful Writers.

I also have a free mini training course available here called “Foundations for Writers.”

For more writing tips and tricks check out my YouTube channel —> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUXkLV0Hmp3VZ0rDNE6aig 

My upcoming events can be found here—> https://albertflynndesilver.com/classes