Reading to Improve Your Writing

One of the easiest ways to improve your writing is to read in greater frequency and of a wider content. Let us know how reading has improved your writing in the comments!

Regarding becoming a better writer, Madeleine L’Engle stated,

“I have advice for people who want to write…you need to read…You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write.”

I have found this advice to be true in multiple ways. Firstly, reading improves active vocabulary. Reading new words in context is a better solution to reading the Oxford English Dictionary in its entirety, and for most folks, a more enjoyable task. You will find how other writers have used words creatively and learn new ways to express yourself.

Not only does reading build your vocabulary, reading complex materials leads to more complex writing. Keeping a healthy “reading diet” produces quality results. A study at the University of Florida, published in 2016, found that the reading content and frequency had a significant impact on graduate students’ writing. The more complex the average material, the more sophisticated the writing construction of a student.

Reading the works of authors who have mastered their craft in a wide array of genres will empower you. Moreover, you will gain proficiency in different aspects of writing. For example, one author may guide you to create multi-faceted characters. On the other hand, another author may show you patterns to build the perfect plot.

Finally, reading recharges your thought processes. Whether you are stuck on finding the perfect word, or you need a break from constructing your current scene, reading another work will bring you out of your own writing world to find relief in a different perspective. We thoroughly support reading to improve writing, as so many great authors advised the same. Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, when speaking of his routine, stated, “I write two pages. And then I read and read and read.”