Hello!

I've heard so much awful writing advice since I started taking my fiction writing more seriously a few years back. But one of the worst pieces of advice I've ever heard is, "Writers shouldn't read too much of others' work." What?!

The logic of this advice goes: if you read too much of what other people wrote, you'll lose your unique voice and style. You might catch yourself imitating somebody else instead of honing your own skills. You could lose confidence in whatever you have to offer that could set you apart in the crowded markets of modern literature.

I think this is absolute balderdash! I believe all serious writers should read in their genre - and outside of it. If you find some style you like and you want to experiment with imitating it, I say go right ahead! Contrary to losing yourself, you'll probably learn something about the craft of writing and what works (and doesn't work) for you along the way.

I recently finished two books, one in my preferred genre, speculative fiction (Xiran Jay Zhou's Iron Widow) and one well outside of it (Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead). Both made me laugh, cry, and remember the power of great fiction to fulfill the promise in the quote from the late, great Ursula K. Le Guin from the introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness: "Fiction writers, at least in their braver moments, do desire the truth: to know it, speak it, serve it. But they go about it in a peculiar and devious way, which consists in inventing persons, places, and events which never did and never will exist or occur, and telling about these fictions in detail and at length and with a great deal of emotion, and then when they are done writing down this pack of lies, they say, There! That’s the truth!"

Given the "sustained, steady decline" in reading for pleasure among Americans and reported decrease in students' ability to read full books, shouldn't we all be doing our part to keep reading alive? And no one more so than writers. After all, I'm convinced the things most worth writing come from authors who have done their reading.

Happy reading!

Nicole

Disclaimer: The views expressed in my newsletter or on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.