Reading Helps You Write

This is a hill I will live and die on happily.

Reading helps you write.

I can’t begin to tell you how many books have saved my writer’s block. Even when I feel like I don’t want to write, I’m down and low and I can’t be bothered to sit at my computer or pull out a notebook. I read a chapter and suddenly, I have this urge to write.

I don’t know why that is. My only theory is: I want people to feel what other authors make me feel.

As authors, there is a lot to keep track of. Indie or traditionally published, y’all we’re writing BOOKS! Like full novels, novellas, poetry books with beginnings, middles and ends. Whether it’s a lighthearted romantic comedy or a dark and depressing thriller, there’s so much that goes into crafting our stories. We take from our personal lives and throw it into a piece of art that gets torn apart by all kinds of people. And we’re supposed to smile and nod and act like everything is fine when our world is nothing but a dumpster fire.

When I first thought about this blog post, I was going to go into the trenches and let you know, hey, read a book if you're stuck. But as things progressed and I tried to get there, this came out instead.

The world is a straight up dumpster fire. And if it’s not personally for you, our surroundings are constantly reminding us we are on our way to a Hunger Games styled future and I for one ain’t about it. Loved the series, refuse to relive it. In order to do that, we have to keep fighting. We have to keep reading and writing the stories they want banned.

Now I’m not going to get political. I have a whole other blog post for that. This is more about our well being.

As writers, we started out as readers. We fell in love with stories. Whether that was on the page or the big screen, but think about it, every story imaginable began by writing it down. A whiteboard or a wall with red yarn on and a thousand sticky notes counts. We put it down on paper and let it grow. The author of your favorite book did the same thing. And through their own blood, sweat and tears, they gave you the masterpieces you hold onto so dearly.

So for this year, writers I challenge you. Instead of dissecting the themes in the books you read (but keep doing that because it’s really freakin’ fun), think about how the books made you FEEL. How your heart raced at certain parts. What made you laugh or kick your feet or squeal. Even what made you cringe. Honestly, I’m a firm believer that every book needs one cringe moment. No one goes through life without at least one so it’s my favorite realistic moment in any story ever.

Think about how you felt while reading. How the characters made you so angry but you just had to find out what happened next. Take all those feelings, bottle them up, and use them to keep writing. Use them to get into the mind of your own characters and to the heart of your stories.

Because isn’t that why we read in the first place? To feel? The HEA doesn’t come without some sort of pain and we relish in it. 

And your story has never been told by YOU before. So please, don’t forget to pick up a book while you’re writing one. It could very well steer you in the right direction.