Reading as the best way to learn writing—and perhaps make money along the way
I’m about to post Peter Kerry Powers’ perspicacious essay “Writing by the numbers: Who needs an audience?” So what is the best way to learn writing? How about reading—of narrative works, not just exposition alone? This is no small part of the rationale behind the TeleRead plan for a well-stocked national digital library system blended in with local schools and libraries.
Yes, formal instruction in writing can help, but it’s no replacement. Below I’ll highlight a just-received comment from a TeleBlog reader named William—titled “How an interest in narrative helped my career”:
“I write sales copy for several multi-million dollar Internet businesses. When I applied for my position I needed to submit a writing sample. To differentiate myself I submitted the first few pages of an unpublished novel I’m finishing up rather than sales copy. It got me in for an interview and I got the job.
“My boss sent me to a seminar on writing sales copy. The speaker at the seminar emphasized the fact that writing narrative improves skills in writing sales copy. He suggested that sales copy writers dabble in narrative to improve skill.
“1. Sales copy writers and narrative writers both need to grab the reader’s attention and convince them to continue reading. The sales copy writer wants to sell his product. The narrative writer wants to sell his next book.
“2. Writing of narrative calls for creativity. Creativity is needed to find new angles in marketing products.
“When I took intro to professional writing in college I didn’t read any of the text books. Frankly, they bored the hell out of me. Instead I dug into the collected works of Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare. I also read religious narrative like the Ramayana.
“My classmates hated the class, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Photo credit: The gifted Rob McGlynn.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I believe that reading exposes the mind to the patterns of correct sentence structure, grammer, spelling, etc. Having these patterns on-tap is what makes it easier to produce good writing.
In my own case, I started reading everything I could get my hands on when I was very young. In school, I always hated being force-taught grammer. However, I always did very well with my writing assignments. Just don’t ask me what a dangling participle is
February 29th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Diagramming — that helped me a lot, Joe. Anyone feel the same? It was different from the usual grammar–it helped me understand how sentences were put together. But the main thing is, yes, to read!
Thanks,
David
(who sins constantly with fragments but at least knows what’s going on)
February 29th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
“I believe that reading exposes the mind to the patterns of correct sentence structure, grammer, spelling, etc. Having these patterns on-tap is what makes it easier to produce good writing.
In my own case, I started reading everything I could get my hands on when I was very young. In school, I always hated being force-taught grammer. However, I always did very well with my writing assignments. Just don’t ask me what a dangling participle is :-)”
One would think that if one is to criticize some bad spelling that one would want to make SURE that their comment has good spelling, particularly since the word that is misspelled gets a red line under it. At least it is consistent.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:06 am
I don’t believe that I was criticizing anyone’s spelling in my original post. However, I did spell grammar incorrectly. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, I do make mistakes. Perhaps you don’t?
March 1st, 2008 at 12:12 am
I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way. - Mark Twain
March 1st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I’m with Mr. Gray. I can’t diagram a sentence to save my life, and even though I’m a fairly decent editor, cannot explain my edits using the language of grammar. My knowledge of grammar is adequate for a rousing game of MadLibs, but I’m lost beyond that. I was a voracious reader as a kid, and seem to have just absorbed and internalized the rules of writing, without being able to articulate those rules. I’ve thought about and rejected higher degrees in writing because I’d probably have to take remedial grammar classes. Because I was such a strong writer, my high school teachers suggestion I skip grammar/comp, and I’ve been waiting to be outed as a fraud ever since.
My “grammer” story: I purposefully mispelled it in our 5th grade class spelling bee, just so I wouldn’t have to move ahead to the school-wide spelling bee.