To become a better writer, read as much as you can

same is true for writing code : in order to get better at writing code, reading other people's code can help a lot.

Good writing. Maybe I am too used to OREO format, where point is made, example given, and point re-iterated in tech or non-fictional format unlike the author's more of story-based narrative.

The author seems to be branch off to a polymath path, consuming ideas from many different fields. A caution is that, the author needs to plan on what to learn and set scope and boundary on how much to learn in each field (unless you are Leonardo Da Vinci, who still struggled in some fields. He was damn smart but his ADHD stopped him from building something even better in some instances).

Anyways, fun writing.

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My anecdote: The more I read, the more I see the context of why authors write certain things based on events, and political affinity s/he had.

I started converse with books and see points that are not right per my understanding or mis-represented. Now we can use AIs, or Google, or search books to verify author's assumptions. The authors points might have had been true at the time but not at current point.

It's just fun to gather more insights on how to think as I read more.

I emphathize with the author's enthusiam.

I used to write blogs, but not any more as I stopped reading for awhile during covid time (bad instances even with 3 shots of vaccines).

I am starting again, surely but slowly, and I cannot make an excuse as the author mentioned as my daily phone screem daily time is 2+ hours.

"Write as much as you can" is a more crucial piece. Reading is of course important for forming taste.

Anecdotally there are musicians who in interviews report saying they "don't listen to much (other people's) music anymore". Well, that always shows. They get self-referential and repetitive.

You need to read a lot on the homepage, and secondly, you need to develop your observation skills, especially to summarize your views from small things.

To read as much as you can, have a love for reading.

How do you acquire a love for reading? Why would you want to acquire a love for reading?

Nice title fix!

Absolutely. I write a lot, and I realized that without being a voracious reader since I was a kid, I would be a Neanderthal.

It's good to read widely, to understand what is poor quality and what strums the strings of the soul. Rejoice in this human communion

Brevity tho.

I mean this is generally true for everything from cooking to playing video games to knitting to fixing cars, observe before you act

Mostly agree, but one very small caveat—the books we all get to enjoy as readers have been through (presumably) beta readers, agent edits, and then publisher edits, and even then a line editor as well. All those hidden decisions you will not be able to learn until you do them.

"To which I say this: fuck you, you’re not too busy." What's with the abuse? Is that the hallmark of a great writer as well? Fuck this, fuck that. Pathetic.

That said, good advice. Mediocre readers are mediocre writers. The reverse is not necessarily true. I've met many fantasy writers (hello Readercon!) who've read every damn series and then proceed to write yet another Tolkienesque knockoff. Their brains are pretty much like overtrained LLMs.

> I would’ve thought the necessity of reading in this profession obvious. But I’ve noticed a worrying trend lately: aspiring writers who don’t read.

I know it's a very bad thing to say out loud, but if even aspiring writers, those who care so much that they go to writing workshops, have stopped reading, it's a very strong signal that writing/publishing won't be a viable profession in the near future anymore.

I am not so much a writer but someone who loves how words can paint miniature splinters of reality.

Operating these little diskettes that load programs straight into the receiver’s brain.

I feel like Joseph Goebbels of fictional worlds. Writing a code that will smoothly execute delusion - “This is real, this really could happen. I want to see where it goes next.”

If words are just source code for human brain then I wonder, when using an LLM - do you really program it or does it rather program you?

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In my experience, reading can make you a better writer sure.

But it depends on what you read. Take AI for example, it's trained on a ton of text right? It can write, but can it write effectively? Is its writing really "good" ?

The point I'm trying to make is, there's a difference between reading & learning from the patterns of what you read - and actually learning the best way to write - to actually provide a reader with maximum comprehension (If it's educational) or entertainment (If it's fiction/fantasy)

Best example I can give on this is - you can learn to swim from watching hundreds of people swim - but you won't be an Olympic level swimmer unless you learn from the best.

If that makes sense.

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Reading disturbs my writing greatly though.

I tend to mimic the author I am reading, it’s annoying.

If I change the book I read while writing something, my text changes tone in the middle.

I am not a good writer, and I don’t read that much, so maybe that trend goes away when you write a lot, but it’s a pitfall worth knowing