You’re Reading All Wrong and It’s Killing Your Creative Process

***This first appeared in The Writing Cooperative***

“I hate writing, I love having written,” Dorthy Parker said.

Parker exposed the worst truth about writers when she said this— writers are innately resistant to the act of writing. The process is toiling. Many of us stalk the greats for advice because the methodology and productive habits of a writer are a mystery uncovered by trial and a large amount of error. Any advice to get ahead is treasured. One unanimous piece of advice from successful authors is to read. To be the best, one must read the best.

In Francine Prose’s book Reading Like A Writer she says,

“the more we read, the faster we can perform that magic trick of seeing how the letters have been combined into words that have meaning.”

This magic and the glory of a well-written piece is the rhythm our fingers find in the keys. But first we must avert distraction, because life is filled with endless calls for attention. Trying to hurtle distractions in my writing process, I melted into a book challenge. I’ve been devouring books this year. Novels, autobiographies, poems, literary magazines, anything that gravitates my way in Vietnam. About thirty books into my fifty-two book challenge, a bit late I know, I noticed an unusual pattern.

I was reading as an excuse not to write.

In fact, reading trumped every moment I needed to be creating new work. I wanted to meet my reading goals and I was filling my time with one focus. By doing this I was over looking the whole of my goals — reading fifty-two books to become a better writer.

I can’t be a better writer if I don’t write.

So how do you navigate the advice of reading to become a better writer without tipping too far into indulgence? How do you read as a tool and not as a distraction from your writing? Exploring what, when, and why you’re reading will help you read with the purpose of polishing your creative writing and finding a balance in your creative process.

What are you reading?

I begin my creative process with reading, but it’s limited. I read articles or stories that have a one-sitting-story-arc. Something to be read in twenty to thirty minutes with a beginning, middle, and end. Limiting my intake of information to articles or stories I can finish, I set myself up for a micro-win. I begin my creative process having already completed something and I’m positively inspired to crash into the blank page.

I save the novels for after I’ve written. Though I’m learning everything from prose to punctuation as I read novels, the pace is leisurely. I read novels for entertainment and without a time limit. As time management is a critical part of a constructive and ultimately productive writing process, I’ve found that reading novels before I write is distracting. I don’t have the self-control to limit my reading to one chapter of a great novel in the morning. I want to position reading novels as a reward for hard work rather than a distraction from my writing.

By dividing my intake of information in this way I can differentiate between what I’m reading for the purpose of stimulating my creative process and what I’m reading for relaxation. This creates a clear path for productivity.

When are you reading?

Should you read before you start writing? After? When you have writer’s block? Should you read in the morning or the evening?

I find the best success is thirty minutes of reading before I free write and flow into larger projects. This lets me act, feel, and experience the voices of other authors. Reading before you write is a stimulant for your thoughts and creativity. I’m empowered to make stories, inspired to pick up the pen while I read. Also, reading before writing will help prevent writer’s block as you capitalize on the cognitive wheels having turned while engaged in someone else’s story.

The time of day you’re reading will affect your level of energy and influence your level of inspiration. Reading in the morning versus the evening will engage different parts of your creative brain. After a night’s rest, your brain is more receptive to critical ideas and details when you wake up. In the evening, as the brain becomes more tired and lucid, it’s more susceptible to grandeur and imagination. This is not to say that in the morning you’ll gloss over the wonder of a story, nor in the evening will you be blind to a book’s critical structure, but the natural flow of your creativity after reading in the morning vs. the evening will be different.

I’ve found reading for the purpose of writing is best done in the morning and before you begin your creative routine.

Why are you reading?

In Reading Like a Writer, Prose addresses the question, can creative writing be taught? Bluntly she confesses,

“class, as helpful as it was, was not where I learned to write.”

Her book is a 270 page ode to why reading is the elixir of great writing.

Through her “guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them,” I came away with a very clear message. Reading is more than simply scanning the pages and finishing the story. If you want to gain something from the text, such as a writer should, then you must read vigilantly, while engaging, questioning, and learning from the text one word at a time.

Understanding your purpose for reading will help your writing process. Choosing to read a novel specifically esteemed for its use of prose is like osmosis for better writing — if you read with purpose. Dreaming of mastering character development? Reading with acute attention to how authors develop their characters will allow you to mimmic great development in your writing. Reading can be your greatest asset as a writer if you’re cognizant of the reasons why you pick up a book or read an article.

As you move forward in mastering your creative writing process, or in polishing your current habits, keep reading. Keep feeding your creative mind with the powerful words of others, but don’t forget to remain balanced.

Paying attention to what, when, and why you’re reading will help you to avoid diversion and empower you to overcome resistance when putting words on the page.

I wish you happy reading.

More importantly, I wish you happy writing.

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