Above All, Read

Part Three of "How Do You Write Novels?"

 

#3.      Read. Every day. No excuses. 

This is something a lot of writers take for granted. Writers write, but writers also read. If you don’t read other writers’ work, how can you expect them to read yours? So pick up one of those dusty books off the shelves, and read a chapter. Every day. 

I guarantee that there are ten minutes of wasted time during each of your days. You may not think this is true, but look a little harder. That time you spend when you’ve hit the snooze button, when you sit down to watch Wheel, or even while you’re eating your breakfast, you could be reading.

If you’re looking for something new to read, here are a few authors to check out:

Ted Dekker

Tosca Lee

Michael Crichton

Scott Lynch

Robin Parrish

Ronald K. Siegel

And here’s a few book series’s that might peak some of your interest:

Doctor Who (yes, there’s a book series! They’re short and read like the TV show)

The Circle (Dekker)

Stargate (SG-1 and Atlantis each have their own novel franchise)

Gentleman Bastards (Lynch)

The Chronicles of Brothers (Alec)

The Space Trilogy (Lewis)

Lastly, a few books that you might not have read, and might give you some inspiration or useful information for future writings:

The Silmarillion

The Saga of the Volsungs

The Poetic and Prose Eddas

Le Morte D’Arthur (or The Fall of Arthur by Tolkien)

Till We Have Faces

Let me know if you’d like some recommendations in a specific genre. My library is quite extensive. I also believe that every writer should read at least a little Shakespeare, but I understand that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. 

Have a good weekend everyone!