Well,
being an avid reader you are sure what all you want to read, but what should
you consider reading when you are a writer? There is no single answer to this.
To be frank, read everything you enjoy. Whatever you read is useful, be it -
newspapers, magazines, novels, technical papers, economics, history, literature,
science, spiritual, etc. Nevertheless, there are certain points you can keep in
mind while choosing to read, especially ‘for’ writing.
Let’s start with
something interesting - Be an Adventurer!
There
is an ocean full of books, authors, and genres available to read. Some may
interest you and some may not. An average reader or a writer may stick to a
couple of genres or authors. There is a
chance that soon, his/her style starts following the same pattern, and remain
no longer unique. So, to excel, to have
an edge in your writing, it’s good to explore. Be an adventurer! Swim in
different waters.
No
need to go on looking at the ‘top books to read’ lists in each genre,
especially as you may not be a connoisseur of that genre, but give your reading
experience some new tastes. If you read some four or five books a month, give at least one book, not part of your ‘To Read’
list, a chance every month. Some ways to do this could be:
[Please note: The
number of books you read could vary, and don’t worry if it’s not four or five per
month. It’s just that, being a professional writer, it helps to have a good
reading appetite. So, if you aren’t reading a lot at the moment, slowly, aim to
build your appetite]
·
Walk into a store or a library and browse
through the available collection. Pick up a book randomly, say, because you
liked its title or the cover, or because the book intrigued you in some way. Go
with your gut feeling, without researching about its reviews, or being very
conscious about the author (familiar or unfamiliar) or the genre.
·
Walk through the alley of a genre you have
seldom given a chance. Take that chance, travel that alien mile, and pick up a
book which you feel like ‘at least’ having
a look at.
The
best part of doing this activity is that you don’t have the book on your ‘To Read’
list, so:
·
You don’t have a pre-conceived notion about
what you are going to read
·
You don’t have great expectations from it
·
It’s a
mystery, a surprise as to what you are getting into
·
You could find a hidden ‘written’ treasure
and end up thinking ‘Why isn’t this the best book ever?’ Well, it may or may
not be, but it could be one special book that connected with you or your
feelings perfectly! And consciously, you would have never come across it, maybe
because the author was not that well known, or it wasn’t of your preferred genre.
·
In case after reading for some time, you
don’t like it, you could very well drop it. It was anyways, not on your reading
list. And remember, it still wasn’t a waste of time. Reading is never a
time-waste. You are a writer, and you take a learning from it – ‘What went
wrong with the book!’
In
fact, many times (of course, not always) I have found it so interesting to
stumble upon some unknown author, to find a wonderful piece of writing, that I
ended up reading quite a lot written by him/her later. I have my list of ‘To
Read’ books, but I make it point to leap out of it, at-least once a month, and choose an unfamiliar author or one not
much heard of by me, or a new genre which I have not much read before, and give
it a shot.
Inspiring:
Next,
keep some books around which make you feel positive, and boost your confidence.
These could be spiritual books, biographies of people whom you look up to,
inspirational or self-help books, the stories of hard work, success, victory,
or even failures - anything that motivates
you to put in your best.
I
would not recommend any particular book, author, or genre here because it’s a
very personal choice, and everyone is inspired by quite different experiences.
Hence, choose whatever suits you the best.
Grammar:
You
would have heard that it’s nice to know the grammar of the language you want to
write in. Yes, it is, and howsoever
boring it may seem, this is one thing you should consider. It definitely
improves your writing and makes it impressive. Once you start with it, you’ll
be amazed to see yourself, suddenly, writing like a ‘Pro’ and it is, indeed, a
confidence booster when your own writing impresses you.
Keep
a good grammar book handy, to refer to, browse through, and to consider
whenever in doubt. No need to memorize each and every topic or do it as a
course, but make it a habit to flip to various
sections and read through the rules and guidelines given, every now and then.
Some
tips as to how you can go about reading and learning the required grammar,
without having to painfully take it as a burden:
·
Dedicate a few minutes to grammar just before
you sit down to write, or just after your writing session.
·
Make a note of a rule or a guideline and
ensure to use it in your forthcoming write-up. This not only helps you learn
the rules, but how to apply them too. So
to say, their practical usage.
·
Make a note of a rule and try to see where
you have broken it in your previous write-up. This helps you re-read your
write-up in the light of ‘grammar’.
·
Try to think of a way to accommodate the
noted rule in your previous write-up. This step would help you polish your
write-up, improve it, and make it impressive.
·
Try to read, understand and enjoy the rules,
rather than simply memorizing them. If possible, dig a little deep to find the
basis of the rules. You’ll be amazed to find tales around the rules, as to why
and how they came into existence, and why they make a sentence, phrase, etc.
better.
There
could be many other ways you could take
this up, and you could come up with your own creative techniques to make it
interesting, but the important thing is, keep ties with ‘grammar’, it helps!
Some
books I could recommend for English Grammar are:
·
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance
Approach to Punctuation (By Lynne Truss)
·
High School English Grammar and Composition
(By Wren & Martin – H. Martin, P.C. Wren)
·
Practical English Usage (By Michael Swan)
Help Books on Writing:
Once
the writing is not just your passion, but
also your bread and butter, it’s good to consider some good books or courses
which help you write better. These resources,
aid you with various styles and techniques of writing, hone your writing
skills and bring it to the next level. Not that it is mandatory, but if you get
time, it could be worth your while. There are some quite excellent books in the
market for this, and you could search for your specific genre’s help books to
aid your writing. Some suggestions for your consideration could be (But not
limited to):
·
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (By Stephen
King)
·
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to
Character Expression (By Angela Ackerman)
·
Letters to a Young Poet (By Rainer Maria
Rilke)
·
Self-Publishing In the Eye of the Storm (By
Karl Wiggins)
·
The Elements of Style (By William Strunk)
From the Editor's desk
Amit Sareen
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