Read To Learn

If you just can't think up anything that really interests you when your writing, re-read some of your favorite books, not to cheat and use their authors ideas, but to learn what made them excite and fascinate you.  Maybe you've been reading to many boring books and that slowly has crept into your writing.  Whatever you read will influence you though, even if you don't really notice it until long after.  And I admit I am influenced by good books . . .  And at times boring ones.  Now, reading isn't as good as writing, but you need to read to learn what to write.  Did you understand that?  I hopes so.  Anyway, reading can be fun, however I found if I just read, just plain old read, I wouldn't learn to much from it, I might learn some (I would be influenced for certain) yet unless I really focus on what I'm reading, how the author made his writing stand out and how I could use it, unless I really concentrated on that, I wouldn't learn a whole lot.  I admit, I would learn some, and probably more than I know, I've read many, many books, and I realized something a little bit ago.  Although I have already written a novel, I have only seriously been writing since last spring.  That sort of blew my mind away, because if I look back at my old writings, I think.  WHAT!!!  This was MY writing?!?!   Not to be bragging, but I have seen that I have gotten WAY better at writing, I'm not claiming to be an expert unfortunately.

Anyway, my point is, that I'm sure you have increased you writing abilities far more than you know.  Another point I was trying to make was that although I read lots of books, if I didn't focus and study them, I never learned as much as I could have.  I read them for fun, not to learn.  Still, even reading for fun is good, writing for fun is better.