Writing Tip: The Benefits of Reading

To be a good writer, you need to read a lot. Find books that interest you and make you imagine. Find authors that you like and grab their books. Experience them. See the world through their eyes.

If you don't have any favorite authors or topics, you can get any book, even those not well-acclaimed by the critics.

When you read a lot of books, it helps you as a potential writer by doing the following:

1. You Get To Learn the Author's Style

When you have read two or three books by the same author, you get the sense of how they wrote them. Sometimes you can even predict what's going to happen next. This only helps you in developing your own writing style.

But be careful. You don't want to unintentionally adapt the style of that author. You'd want to find your own style, your own voice and your own way of unraveling stories.

2. You Get to Learn From Their Mistakes

Sometimes when you read a book that has gotten low review scores by critics, you can point exactly why this happened. In a way, you'll know what to avoid doing when you write your own short story.

3. You Learn

Sometimes, you tend to forget details about a place, or an event or an important person. Reading books and magazines reminds you of these details so you won't forget to include them in your writing.