What you read will impact what you write in various ways.
Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash
When I started to read daily, I chose a specific time so that I’d be consistent.
Every morning, the first thing I do after I get out of bed, take care of the cats, and get the coffee started, is sit down and read. This can take me 30-60 minutes (I’m usually up at 6 am). I tend to read 1-2 chapters each of fiction and nonfiction.
Via this process, I’m reading at least 50 books a year. But my reading is less about quantity and more about quality.
However – that doesn’t mean I’m only reading “the best”. Besides – how do you define what’s best in the crowded genres of books out there?
For my fiction, I tend to read sci-fi and fantasy. Sometimes I will read something in another fiction genre, or something by Paulo Coelho, John Strelecky, or another hard-to-define fiction writer.
For my nonfiction, I tend to read books about consciousness, conscious reality creation, mindfulness, abundance, manifestation, self-help, philosophy, self-care, and the like. This also sometimes includes science (like physics) and psychology.
I’ve written about this topic before, but I think it’s worth exploring again. No matter – if it’s fiction or nonfiction – what I read, does have an impact on what I write.
How does this happen?
Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, certain factors are mostly universal when it comes to writing.
This can include the basics such as punctuation, grammar, tense, vocabulary, and the like. The choices an author makes throughout their book and consistency are something you notice.
The more I write, the more I notice mistakes in these realms. Sometimes it’s a typo an editor or proofreader missed. Other times, a change in tense nobody caught. I’ve found an extraneous word or two in a book someone neglected to remove during their editing process.
Noticing this in other people’s work – no matter the genre – helps me remain more cognizant of it in my work.
It can, unfortunately, lessen my enjoyment of books I read. When there are consistent errors – or it appears that editing was neglected – this can be glaring.
I’m curious if the new AI tools coming into play will make for better or worse editing. The biggest question I have when it comes to co-writing with AI is – what about editing?
Having seen an email written by AI – I wouldn’t trust it to properly edit context. But I digress.
Reading works from other writers has an impact on my work. That is subjective and takes different forms.
The easiest impact to address comes from and for nonfiction. I learn a lot of different things from the various authors that I read. Many of those things can and will impact my writing.
I began my weekly Pathwalking blog just shy of 11.5 years ago. The difference between Pathwalking 1 and Pathwalking 593 covers a wide range of changes. This includes technical aspects such as better SEO, consistent posting, using Grammarly as part of the editing process, cleaner layouts, and the like.
But beyond that, the philosophy behind my blog has changed and evolved. Part of why is because what I’ve read has taught me new things about conscious reality creation, mindfulness, self-awareness, and my overriding beliefs about life, the Universe, and everything.
When it comes to fiction that I write, I also learn things from other fiction authors. But it’s not quite on the same level as what I learn from nonfiction.
Mostly, I learn better approaches to my own storytelling. Ways and means to change how I write so that I keep my work fresh and interesting. I don’t lift story ideas from other writers – but learn different means to the same ends from them.
I also learn to avoid some of the things I see from other authors. A major problem I’ve had with a recent fiction read involved characters I found almost entirely unlikeable. I love flawed characters – but there’s a point where constant reiterations of their flawed selves, and/or no growth along the way – start to distract from the overall story.
Which is another thing I learn – balancing plots with characters. A great plot with characters you can’t connect with is just as bad as amazing characters with no discernable plot driving them anywhere.
In these ways, what I read impacts my writing.
Seek, find, and accept change via reading
One reason I love to read is because I love to learn.
Even fiction teaches me things – though they tend to be more abstract in my life experience.
I’ve said for a long time that truly living involves constant learning. Learning is part of growing and evolving. Like it or not, you change throughout your life. Similarly, people, places, and things that aren’t you also change. Some are good, some bad, but most are neutral overall.
Change is the only constant in the Universe. You can’t avoid it, it will occur. But you can work better with it – even direct its impact on you and your life – by seeking it out.
Reading is a means to this end. You can learn about that new idea for better mindfulness, the science of upcoming battery tech, the latest and greatest plans for space exploration, and/or how you can use AI to your advantage.
My point is that what you read will impact what you write. But that’s because, larger than this, what you read can and will impact your entire life experience.
Some might find this disconcerting – but I think it’s pretty awesome. What better way to direct and take control over change – and choose how it will and won’t impact you?
Creative work evolves like everything else. Tastes change, popular and unpopular change, and there are always new things to be learned. I’d rather be excited by the potential and possibilities this represents than afraid of what might lack or become scarce as change occurs.
Knowing that what I read will impact what I write – I’m excited to see what new thing I’ll next learn.
How are you inspired to be your own creator – whatever form that takes?
Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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