When I give
workshops or teach classes – when I meet wannabe writers – I often ask: What
are you reading? I hope they will respond with current books in the genre and
for the age range they want to write. But all too often, teen writers admit
that they don’t read books and adult writers confess they aren’t reading any children/teen
fiction.
WHAT?!
My heart
breaks. My head throbs.
To be a
writer you MUST be a reader.
Some of
these unread writers will guiltily try to explain. The reason for their appalling
behaviour? They are afraid if they read books in the same genre they will accidentally
mimic other writers. If only! I wish
that I only had to read Malorie Blackman, Sharon Creech, Sally Gardner, my
fellow EDGE writers or other fabulous authors and Voila! I could write like they do. If that’s how it worked, I’d
never stop reading their books. I’d sleep with them under my pillow. I devour
their books because I DO want to write as beautifully and capture readers’
imaginations the way they do.
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| Studying Cormier and Horowitz for insight & inspiration for my new series. |
The only
creative writing teachers you will ever need are on bookstore and library
shelves. Find the books you adore and wished you’d written and dissect them.
What makes them tick? How did that author hook you and keep you turning the
page? If you are having character problems? Find great characters and determine
how the writer gave birth to them. Dodgy dialog? Study writers with effortless
exchanges.
And I’ll
take my advice one step further. BUY THE BOOK. Support the industry you hope
will support you one day. There are fewer publishers out there and fewer
bookshops. If we don’t support our industry – publishers, bookshops and our
fellow writers and illustrators – then we are part of the problem!
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| My book purchases in May. |
For the
price of a Big Mac, fries and soda, I can purchase a paperback written by one
of my fine, fellow EDGE authors. That’s hours of entertainment – and a much bigger
bang for your buck than a movie. (Although you could argue the nearly 1,000 calories of a
Big Mac meal will linger on my hips and clog my arteries for years to come. So
I’m actually saving your life by advocating Books over Big
Macs. But I digress…)
My husband
thinks I am single-handedly trying to bolster the publishing industry. (This is a photo of
this month’s book purchases.) Yeah, I have a book buying problem. But
there are so many amazing books being published – and much worse addictions.
Want to be
a writer?
Want a
book with your name on the spine?
My top
writing tip – buy LOTS AND LOTS of great books – and study them!
So true. It also teaches you how two authors can write about the same thing but end up with two wildly differing books
ReplyDelete"The only creative writing teachers you will need are on bookstore and library shelves" Yes!
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