It’s Not What You Read, But How You Read That Counts
By: Christie Adams - Writer
Tags: How To Write, New Writers, Authors, Reading Books, Reading

Writing, Books, Reading, Book Lover, Author

It’s Not What You Read, But How You Read That Counts

Pixabay: Pexels

I’m going to go through 16 things to consider as you read those books, that will help you become a better writer.

You can even improve and enhance your current projects, by reading books in a different, more effective way.

Reading this way can truly make a difference.

1 — Read the book

You need to read books in your genre. If you’re writing sci-fi, horror, unicorns and vampires, read lots, and lots, and lots of books in your genre.

Try to pick really good ones, learn from the best sellers. You learn from your own mistakes, and you learn from people who are further on their journey than you are.

Go to your local bookstore, Amazon, Waterstones in the UK, Barnes and Nobles in US, online or in person.

Find the five bestselling books in your particular genre, buy those books and read them.

(I love libraries, but this is an investment in your art so it’s worth getting them to keep if you can.)

2 — Read the book again

And maybe again…again. The first time is to really enjoy the book. Just read it. The second and third readings are more analytical. If you didn’t like the book, sorry, but you’re going to have to read it again.

You might have already read it before, then on the third time you suddenly notice something new.

3 — Grab a pen, paper and ‘post-it’ notes

These are quite handy if they’re different colours. I would say highlighter pens, but I can’t suggest that you permanently mark the book. Unless I’m editing it or scribbling on it on my iPad, I don’t like writing in books, so I use post-its for everything.

Okay, you’re reading it for the second time. This time look more closely, really pick out details whilst going through the book. You may need to read it again afterwards to just get clarification.

Tip: It can spoil it, being over analytical, especially if it is one of your favourite books. That’s a price you need to pay, sorry, but it will probably encourage you, you’ll learn more and more about it and love it even more.

The first thing to decide is simple.

4 — Did you like the book or not?

You might not really know why at first, you just have a particular feeling, that you can’t put your finger on. That’s why you need to think about it. There’s no shame in it. There are millions of books in the world, some you’ll love, some not so much.

That’s why you can be a writer. Get your word out there, because your word is as valid as anybody else’s.

Scribble your initial thoughts, then a week later, revisit your memories of it. Write them on a post-it note, and stick in front of the book.

5 — The hook

This has become even more important for authors, now that readers can ‘preview’ the book online before they buy.

The preview is the first one or two pages of a book, the last thing you want is to be bored in those first two pages. Some of the real classics have got brilliant hooks within the first line. It’s even more important now to get the hook, right?

How did they handle the hook? What did they give you in that first sentence?

You’ll read some books where within two lines, you already know what the whole book’s about, which is incredible. It’s a real skill. Some writers come back to the hook at the end of their book. Once they’ve written the book, they go right back to the beginning and rewrite the hook, because it’s so important.

6 — Characters

How many have they got? Is it clear who’s the good guy v bad guy (Protagonist v antagonist?)

What are they like? How old are they? How have they built them up in your imagination? You’ll have a mental picture of that person, where did you get that from? Have they said ‘this person is six foot two tall with blonde hair and a tattoo’ or did you make that picture in your own head.

Always read the book before you watch the film, because once you’ve watched a film, you’ve got that actor in your head, not the character the writer originally created.

Is their one that you like more than others, why?

How have they made the character sympathetic?

7 — Dialogue

This also includes looking at the ‘he said’ ‘she said’ speech tags. Some writers and coaches say, you should never use the word ‘said’ you should use other tags like muttered, shouted or mumbled. I’m a firm believer that if said works, what’s wrong with using it?

Think about it as you read, how have these best selling authors managed speech and conversations? If they’re the best sellers, they’re the books that your readers will like. It may be that after studying in this way you adjust how you do write more effective dialogue.

8 — The narrator

The person who is telling the story, are they omniscient? Can they see everything in the book? Is it first person? How is the narrator linked into the story?

Did you like the way it was written? I’m not a fan of first-person stories, although it’s a strong trend at the moment.

9 — Chapters and chapter hooks

This comes back to number 5. Each chapter needs a hook. How do they get you into that chapter. How do they end each chapter so the book becomes a real page turner, where you can’t wait to read the next chapter?

Does the new chapter have a strong hook to get you straight in or does it run more slowly?

10 — Plot

Do you like the plot, or not? Was it disappointing?

Usually you’ve got the start, middle and end, the three acts. The middle is often where it does get a bit ‘sticky’ and can drag. Some books are very long in the middle. Does it keep you page turning all the way through? Did you get to the end of the book too quickly, or was it hard work?

What happened? What was unexpected? How have they moved you, and the characters, through the plot.

11 — Location

Where is it? Does it give you a really strong sense of place? I’ve read a book recently, that had a very strong sense place, it was almost a character in itself. The weather also made it very atmospheric. If it’s on a space ship, is that relevant or just mentioned in passing? Do you even know where the story takes place?

12 — Conclusion

How has it come to an end? Was it too abrupt? Was it too dragged out?

Did you work out who did the murder in the third chapter and it was all a bit of an anticlimax?

13 — What was carried forward?

Are they ‘writing to market’ with a multi book series?

I love books that follow on, but I also like things neatly tied up. I don’t mind the odd strands going through to the next book, but how have they handled it in your favourite genre?

Does it come to a neat conclusion, so you can’t even imagine how you could go forward from that book? Is it a standalone or is it really obvious, like some TV shows or films, that they’re dragging you into the next series.

14 — Overall impression of the book

What did you like? What didn’t you like? What did they think that you had handled well? What can you learn from it?

Is it a nice gentle story or very aggressive? Was it thought provoking or just pure escapism?

What conclusions have you drawn as you’ve gone through?

I’m sure that while you’ve been reading, you’ll get ideas on how to improve your own writing.

15 — Blurb

How did they describe the book? Now you’ve read it, does the blurb accurately reflect the book?

You’re going to describe your own book, will it fit neatly within what people want from your genre?

16 — Reviews

Place a review of your own. It helps the author and the publishers, careers can depend on reviews.

As part of your research, read some of the reader’s reviews. What did other people think of the book?

If you find a negative review, dig into it, read the part they didn’t like, see if you can work out why they didn’t like it.

There’s a lot of snobbery around writing, which I’m really trying to break down.

‘I can’t write a book because I haven’t got a degree’ or ‘I can’t write a book because I’m not really good at spelling’ or even ‘I can’t write a book because I’m not good enough.’

That’s ridiculous. Everybody can write their story.

You may need to study, but that doesn’t have to involve going to university.

In my forties I did my degree in literature, it doesn’t mean I’m any better than anybody else at writing. It doesn’t mean I’ve got to stop learning.

I’m always going to be learning new things. I love it.

Go and read a book, once, twice…then let me know how you get on.