Read. Read everything you can. Read the classics. Read bestsellers. Read books in the genre you're writing. Read popular books that have been panned. Read everything you can.
One of the great things about being a fulltime novelist is having more time to read. I still don't read as much as I should, but I'm reading a lot more than I did a few years ago. I'm currently reading No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. It's one of those books where I marvel at the language and the style. It's very literary, and it reveals a master at work.
Before that, I was reading a novel by a popular suspense author. I didn't finish it. It didn't teach me anything. I found it boring and average.
The hope in reading is that you learn things, that you are able to be shown examples of how to do things. If you're reading a great novel, it's the equivilant of playing tennis with a great player. It might be overwhelming, but then again, you realize that it takes not only talent but lots and lots of pratice.
And the best practice outside of writing itself is reading.
Labels: tips, writing
