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Thane Attor

New Writers and Reading as a Writer

I consider myself an avid reader. Fangirl would be a fitting title also. It's something I pride myself in. I own maybe 400 books at this point. Which is a lot of money, let me tell you. If you can avoid succumbing to this obsession, do. I might not have only a couple dollars in my wallet and at least $25 in debt to my sister. But I must also add, I've never regretted buying a book. (Okay, twice, but only because I made a mistake.)

While I would love to talk about my love of books for the rest of this post, I probably should say something that has something to do with the title of this post.

Two pieces of advice I hear in the writing community a lot is: Read like a reader first, then re-read as a writer and read a lot so you can write better.

Both of these are so legit.

I've been enjoying Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo this lovely, very snowy winter. And I thought to myself "Maybe I should read a bit as a writer." I focused on parts of the writing that I personally struggle with a lot. Description and pacing. I go full speed ahead and write heavy dialogue. Both can cause many a problem. I took note of how she chose to describe characters, how much of the exposition was characters internal thought and how much was scenery or action. I translated the third person writing in my head to first person, to get a sense of how it would sound in my first person written stories. And while it makes it harder to lose myself in the story, boy, I learned a lot.

When you're writing stories, you should be fairly actively reading. It's good to be reading within you your genre, but reading outside of it can spark amazing ideas. Be aware of the tropes within your genre, yes, but also appreciate and learn from published writers.

A large part of learning to write is practice, but also learning from other writers. Through reading is one of the best ways. But also through reading blog posts (Hannah Heath is one of my favorite bloggers, along with The Write Practice- for newer writers), listening to podcasts (Writing Excuses is AWESOME- all 14 seasons of it, and Write-Minded) and by actually reaching out to writers that are further along in the process and asking for them to read your stories and give you tips, or asking their advice on certain parts of the creative process. It can be scary if you don't know them, but it can be the best way, especially if you can't find a blog post with the specific piece of advice you need.

It can be difficult when you first start out writing, especially if you were/are young like I was when I started. Trying to figure out what you should be doing and get into the community is hard. I didn't know anyone when I started. I had a few friends who thought writing was cool, but no one really knew anything. So I took to the internet. I searched for blog posts and read the ones that didn't even apply to what I was working on. It was a lot later that I got into podcasts, and I've only reached out to authors a handful of times. Just know that there is hope for being a writer, it's a booming market, and while it seems like it's impossible to get noticed in the sea of aspiring writers, it can happen. You have to be dedicated to your craft for sure.

But also remember, you don't have to publish. Hobby writing is just as legit. If you just want to write a beautiful book just for you, or for your friends or family- you do that! Writing is a wonderful skill to have, and so necessary in the workplace. Many adults, and young adults, don't know how to write anymore, don't value the craft. Be someone who does.

What are some ways/websites/resources that helped you learn how to write? If you want someone who help you with writing, read your work, give you some guidance, that's something i am very passionate about. I have links to resources and a few years of writing under my belt. Comment, E-mail, however you want to reach out. I know Vira would say the same.

Happy writing!

Thane

Let's talk about the first one. Something I keep telling myself i'll do and then... Well, don't. I like reading so much, I don't like re-reading books. Excuses i keep telling myself.

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