If you want to be a writer there are a few things you need to do. One is obvious: you must write. Others may not be as clear. You need to be willing to stay teachable. You should be willing to push yourself. I also believe you should stay a reader.

Many of the best writers I know read all the time. You hop on their social media platforms and you’ll see them showing their to be read piles and book mail. You’ll see them talking about book friends and favorite authors. They’ll share about books they adored as a child and why. Part of this is because they love books. For many of us it’s why we became writers – not all, but many.

Here are four reasons why this long standing love affair with story and books matters. And why it’s a key part of many authors’ process whether they articulate it or not.

• When we read good books in the genre we write (and other genres), we are absorbing the expectations of readers. That matters a great deal. Readers have a set of expectations they bring to a book. When I pick up a regency novel, I expect to find certain elements in the book (clothing, setting, language) that I don’t expect to find in a modern legal drama. If you don’t meet those expectations, I probably won’t finish your book and I’m not going to read more. I may also tell other people that I didn’t think you were very good at writing that kind of book. That’s the wrong kind of word of mouth.
• Reading critically can also help us analyze why a story is working (and maybe why it isn’t). This can improve our skills as storytellers. While I read 70% of my novels in the Christian market because that’s what I write, I’ve made sure I’m reading more in the general market as well. I want to know the stories authors write there and understand what creates the runaway book club hits like Where the Crawdads Sing, All the Light We Cannot See, and the Nightingale. Now two of those books are set in WWII, one of my favorite time periods and one I write in at times, but they are
  also runaway bestsellers, so I wanted to understand why. What was it about the stories that made them explode? The characters. The layers. The richness of emotion. Oh my. The way it all lingers with me still. Ah. When’s the last time you did a chapter-by-chapter analysis of a best-selling story in your genre? Try it. You might just learn something about structure that will improve your writing.
• At the same time, when something doesn’t work for you, stop and consider why. Not every story is for every reader. I know that and I embrace that. But when I find something isn’t working for me as a reader, I try to pause even for a moment and consider why. What pulled me out of the story? Why did I stop caring about the characters? How can I avoid similar issues when I’m writing? A few good questions to analyze in the midst of writing.
• Read more than just the genre you write. Some of my writing friends stop reading when they’re writing because they don’t want to subconsciously absorb and regurgitate that author’s style in their writing. While I admire that idea, reading is one of my few hobbies. I can’t just give it up. So I read very broadly. That way when I’m writing a modern legal suspense, I just shift to reading historical in multiple time periods. But it also allows me to see what’s working (and not) in many different genres. I get ideas and inspirations from many places. And don’t neglect non-fiction. That’s where many of my what-ifs come from.
• BONUS Audiobooks are a great way to slow down and HEAR details you might miss when reading. For me this has allowed me to hear the details of an author I loves writing. I read very fast so can skim the language choices that make writing sing. Audiobooks help me slow down (even at 1.5 speed) to hone in on the lyrical language choices authors make.

How do you read to improve your writing?