Writers love sharing Stephen King’s advice about “killing your darlings” but will go to the mat insisting that his most relevant piece of advice — If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write – doesn’t apply to them. Wrong.
In a post on Writer’s Digest, editor Michael Woodson agrees, saying that reading regularly is just as important as writing regularly. “I want to make other readers feel how I feel when I read certain books, but how do I do that if I haven’t made time for reading in my daily life the same way I’m trying to with writing?” Woodson writes.
In fact, Woodson sometimes loses enthusiasm for his writing when he’s not reading regularly. To ensure he stays in touch with the part of his creativity that is inspired to write, Woodson reads for an hour each morning and keeps his best-loved books close at hand.
“By starting my days off reading, I engage with something that I love, but I’m also thinking critically. What do I like about what I’m reading? How would I have done it differently? What can I learn and implement into my own storytelling from this story?” Woodson writes. “Furthermore, keeping books around that I admire while I’m writing has helped me work through so many writing slumps. The books change depending on what I’m working on, but the effect is always positive.”
What’s on your reading list? This editor’s nightstand currently holds Murder at the ABA by Isaac Asimov, The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor, Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks: 1941-1995, Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Zine Resource, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, and The Necronomnomnom: Recipes and Rites from the Lore of H. P. Lovecraft. What are you reading?
