Everyone says you should read a lot if you want to improve your writing. A blanket statement if ever I heard one.
Anyone can read. There are readers out there consuming 100, 200, and even more books a year. You don’t see them automatically writing bestselling novels. That’s because just reading isn’t enough. I think there should be a caveat to that sentence. It’s not enough to just read. You have to analyze, deconstruct and synthesize that reading into your work. That’s what we’re going to look at today.
A Word on How You Read
When I say you have to read consciously and not lose yourself in the story, many people object, because “escapism” is half the joy of reading. Look, I’m not saying you’re never allowed to read solely for fun. What I’m saying is to try and keep part of your brain conscious. Allow it to roam the pages for sparkling dialogue, description that sings, or characterization that takes your breath away.
Underline those sentences, or if that’s too much like sacrilege, use a sticky tab to highlight where you found sentences that jumped out at you.
How to Pick up on Sentences
In order to find interesting sentences, I ask how or why an author created that particular sentence or effect. I go into detail on this topic in The Anatomy of Prose, my latest book. Here are some examples:
Dialogue
- Why did that line of dialogue make me laugh?
- How did the author use the back and forth between two characters to show insight into their emotional wounds?
Description
- How did the author use punctuation to create descriptive rhythm?
- Why did the author choose those words to create a descriptive metaphor?
- How did the description shed light on a character’s personality?
Technical Observations
- How did those conflicting words create such a powerful juxtaposition?
- Why did the author choose to break that writing rule in this sentence?
- Why did the use of alliteration in this description work so well to create vivid imagery?
How to Analyze What You’ve Read
It’s all good and well telling you to ask questions, but the real lesson comes from the analysis and then putting it into practice. So, let’s do just that.
Worked Example
I dug through my file of quotes (yes, I collect quotes from books where I think a lesson can be gleaned) and found a great example:
“I see no secrets in your gaze,” I said. I see only night and smoke, dreams and glass, embers and wings. And I would not have you any other way.” Roshani Chokshi, The Star-Touched Queen.
There are many observations we can take from this quote. But I’m going to focus on just two:
Observation 1
Chokshi has created characterization as well as character description by elaborating through the narrator’s inner dialogue. This means the narrator doesn’t want the character being described to know what they think or feel about them. It also shows the narrator’s vulnerability as it’s clear she “likes” the character she’s describing.
Observation 2
Chokshi has used a specific repetition technique and rhythm to create the description. Specifically, “X and X”. Her words are:
“night and smoke”
“dreams and glass”
“embers and wings”
You can take both these literary techniques and use them in your own work with your own words.
Putting Lessons into Practice
Note that we are not copying the author’s words, their characters. or characterization. That’s plagiarism. Instead we are using the literary techniques like inner dialogue to increase characterization, or the X and X rhythm of description to create our own descriptive flow. Some techniques might work for you, others you may hate. But unless you try the tools and techniques you discover while reading, you won’t shape your own writing voice.
To give an example of this in practice, I’ve used two characters I’m currently developing for a new series: Earl (the narrator) and Scarlet (the woman he’s describing). If I wanted to use the same techniques and rhythm Chokshi used, I could create something like this:
“There is death in your eyes,” Earl said. Death and blood, vengeance and war, power and victory. Everything I like in a woman.
You’ll note that, while I used the same techniques, my sentences are completely different from Chokshi’s. Different words, different characters, different tone and feeling.
If this feels too similar to Chokshi’s sentence, I could include Earl’s thought in the narrative description rather than inner monologue, like so:
“There is death in your eyes,” Earl said. Death and blood, vengeance and war, power and victory. Everything I like in a woman.
Or I can get rid of the X and X technique while still using the narrator’s inner dialogue to show how he really feels about his counterpart.
“You reek of death,” Earl said. I like that in a woman.
If I preferred shorter, cleaner descriptions, I could still use the X and X rhythm but make it sharper by removing all but one instance, like this:
“There is death in your eyes,” Earl said. Death and blood. Everything I like in a woman.
You can see how much you can take—both lessons and technique-wise—from the analysis of just one quote. Yes, reading is important, nay, essential as a writer, but I truly believe it’s more than that. What’s important is what you do with your reading and how you analyze what you’ve read. It’s that intentional practice that truly helps you develop as a writer.
