I feel it’s safe to say that reading and writing go hand in hand. Hell, half of us were inspired to go into writing through our passion for reading. However, I would not say that “simply reading” is always enough. In order for a writer to truly gain anything (other than the enjoyment of a good story) from reading, she must read not like a reader, but like a writer.

1. Consider writing conventions

First and foremost, consider the “basics” of writing (and these basics, naturally, are not-so-basic at the end of the day). These basics are the building blocks of the story: grammar, semantics, organization, structure, and style. While reading a book, consider each of these elements–and any others you can think of, at that: there is no clear-cut rule. Different writers use these elements in different ways. Though some are standard, and a writer who uses atrocious grammar for the sake of “style” may lose a reader anyway, writer-readers should analyze an author’s specific usage of the basic writing conventions. Asking “why” an author used a certain convention in a particular way is a valuable method for readers to investigate the story and the writing itself.

• Grammar
Though grammar is typically one of the conventions writers should be consistent with (a writer who misuses “then” and “than” only loses respect, no matter what the reason for it), there are some weird exceptions. Consider things like this: is the writer using different grammar to denote the different voice in fictional characters? Why might he or she have used a double negative instead of simply an affirmative? What’s the reason?

• Semantics
Word choice is a major factor in writing. Most good writers have chosen the words they have used very consciously, determining the absolute best fit for the situation. Paying close attention to the specific words authors have used, understanding both the connotation and the denotation of these words, and seeing how they fit into the rest of the story, is a great way to consider it.

• Organization
While reading, consider the overall flow of the story. Does it fit together. Did the beginning scene prepare you for the following scene? Does anything feel clunky and incomplete? If it does, identify why it feels clunky and incomplete. Why were the scenes placed in the order they are in? What does their order accomplish as far as moving the story forward?

• Structure
Structure is different than organization. It’s not where the elements are put together–it’s how the elements are put together. Did the author use long or short chapters? Why? Is the dialogue attached to name tags or left alone? How are the sentences laid out? What’s the importance of the sentence structure? Does it convey a mood that matches that of the scene?

• Style
Style can get tricky. One of the greatest teachers I ever had said something brilliant about style: “A piece of work can be grammatically perfect but stylistically ugly.” Style is not above critique, though many writers seem to think it is. An author’s individual deviation from any of the above conventions can be considered a stylistic choice. Some of these choices work wonderfully. Some do not. While reading, identify these stylistic choices. Determine if they “work” for the story or if they do more harm than good. Why do they work? Why don’t they? What could have been done to save the sentence or scene?

2. Dissect the characters
A common trend of recreational readers is to blindly fall in love with characters. These readers latch onto the idea of a single character and ignore (or simply fail to notice) the things that make up that character. This is fine and dandy for the recreational reader. However, for the writer-reader, a character should be much more than a fictional human being with whom you develop bizarre emotional connection to. By all means, writer-readers can still fall in love with characters, but the beauty of it is they can also understand why (other than, of course, Lead Male’s bulging biceps–that goes without saying).

• Motives
Every character should have a reason for being in the story. As my novel writing professor told me, “every character needs a role in the story, even if his only role is to serve a cup of coffee.” In the real world, we interact with people every day who do not, and will never, play a significant role in our life-story. In a novel, it isn’t so. Characters without motives only take up valuable word-space. While reading, determine the motives of every character. Figure out why that character is in the story. What roles do the characters play? Why is this character assigned this role?

• Depth
Every story has deep characters and shallow characters, more commonly referred to as “round” or “flat” characters. The primary characters in the book should be round–they should have more depth to them. They should change throughout the course of the story. They should have to deal with conflict and resolution. Consider the main characters in the book. Are they visibly changing? Do they have to deal with conflict? At the end of the book, can you see a change in the character compared to the beginning? What about the side characters? Are some of the side characters too rounded while the main characters seem flat and boring? If you cannot relate to a main character, he is likely too flat. Identifying how an author develops a character’s depth is a valuable tool to determining how to develop your own round characters.

• Realism
In order for a reader to connect to a character, the characters must feel realistic. Do the characters in the book feel realistic to you? If so, what makes them realistic? Does their dialogue seem natural and normal? Do they handle conflict in a way that makes sense with their characterization? Do they have understandable relationships and connections to the other characters in the story? Ultimately, at the end of the day, can you think about this character and imagine them in the real world? Characters that you can believe would actually exist are characters people can relate to. If you find yourself struggling with a character you cannot understand, identify why you cannot understand them.

3. Identify the plot

The plot is the driving force behind a novel. Writer-readers should closely consider the elements of a successful plot line. This can help them understand the ways other writers are able to drive their readers through a story without losing their interest or confusing them. A well written plot should be easy to follow and engaging. When reading, try to figure out why a plot line is or is not working. Here are some useful things to consider:

• Plot flow
The plot line should be impelling and pull you through the story. If it doesn’t, there’s a problem. The flow of a plot line has a lot to do with whether or not it can keep a reader’s attention or not. If a plot line jumps around or is erratic (as in, it doesn’t follow the standard “exposition -> rising action -> climax -> falling action -> denouement” structure), or if it doesn’t make realistic, believable, or sensible transitions, not only do readers have a hard time following along, but they have a hard time caring. Think about the plot as you read through a book. Does it throw you into an erratic roller-coaster ride that has too many ups and downs? Is it well-structured? Can you identify the major plot points? Has it sucked you in or are you bored? Why?

• Subplots
Most novels have subplots beneath the primary plot line that are not essential to making the main plot run smoothly but definitely help build a compelling story. These subplots usually involve minor characters and have their own mini plot arcs. You can consider them as you do a primary plot line. Are they smooth? Do they make sense? But more importantly, they should add to the story. If a subplot feels misplaced or completely unnecessary, it probably is. Can you find any subplots? What makes them successful? If they aren’t successful, why don’t they fit in?

• Plot holes
Even published works sometimes have plot holes. Often, these holes are too small or insignificant to matter, but finding them and analyzing them can help writers avoid them in their own work. Did you run across a plot hole? Is it a simple mistake or something that could potentially change the way the work is interpreted? Perhaps the plot hole is intentional. Sometimes writers leave little gaps for their readers to fill in with their imaginations. Does this seem like one of those instances? If so, did it work for you or are you unsatisfied with the lack of information? What could be done to fix it?

4. Get inside the author’s head
It isn’t always easy to do, but understanding the writer’s motives for the choices he made can really help a writer-reader understand why certain elements were used they way they were. This can be a great insight to writers who have recognized the successful writing style of an author. By being able to think like the author himself, or at least read his work as closely as he did, you can better understand why certain techniques used or choices were made.

• Slow down
Throughout my undergraduate career, I was trained to get through a book as quickly as I could in order to be able to contribute to discussion in class the next day. Sometimes I was expected to get through over two hundred pages in a single night (this is, of course, counting all the literature classes I would take at a time). Many other people have been self-taught to read quickly. Sometimes we can’t help it when we’re sucked into a story and finish it in two days. However, for writer-readers, slowing down and taking the time to understand the time and effort put into a book is a valuable way to better consider the elements listed above. When we rush, we often forget to consider a character, or we don’t notice when a plot line makes a jump we don’t understand. By slowing down, we are better able to actually digest what we’re reading instead of swallowing it whole. To get a real taste for the author’s intention, we must take our time to savor the experience.

• Read carefully
Slowing down allows writer-readers to examine every minute detail. Writers are creatures of precision. It is very likely that every sentence you are reading has been very specifically chosen among a slew of other possible sentences. It is not a coincidence that the elements flow together the way they do: the author (at least, if he was a good author) thought all of that through ad nauseam. He likely spent years creating something it will take you no more than a week to read. How can you possibly get inside the writer’s head if you aren’t taking at least some time to actually consider what he was trying to do when he made the choices he made?

• Read it again
Remember, our hypothetical author wrote this book over a matter of years. Probably several years. He reread and rewrote the materials dozens of times to get it as close to perfect as he could (and, ultimately, he never got it “perfect,” and sent it off for publication anyway). Not only will slowing down help you better understand the author’s personal motives, rereading the work will, too. By revisiting a text you are already familiar with, you will be able to make connections more easily, read into the actions of characters with a better understanding of how it’s helping in their eventual development, and catch the subtle tricks the author is using to move you through the story. In fact, many people I’ve talked to have argued that the first time you read a book, read it as recreation. The second time, read it as a writer. That way, when you are considering the book as a writer instead of as a reader, you already know what’s going to happen and it’s easier for you to make the connections between the elements and the writer’s motives.

Reading like a writer isn’t always possible, and as a writer you don’t always want to read like a writer. Sometimes, it’s nice to just relax with a book and enjoy the ride. Ultimately, even with recreational reading, you are still gaining a little bit of insight on the writing itself. Personally, I can’t read a book without putting on my “writing lens” and thinking about it as an author–and for me, that makes it fun. Hopefully, by being able to consider these four things–and by adding other, personal criteria–other writers can help themselves grow by doing something they already loved in the first place.

Happy reading! Happy writing!

(This a guest post by Mary Hunton. Mary has been writing for the greater part of nine years. She excelled at it in high school, writing for everything from her school newspaper to literary magazines, taking part in the creative writing classes, workshops, and competitions. She won first place in her grade in the county-wide creative writing competition two years consecutively, the only two years she competed. She began working on her first novel when she was fifteen. Mary is now a copywriter for a technology company in Reno, Nevada. The first two books she wrote are currently being torn to shreds for a much-needed rewrite, and two more are are waiting for an outline reform.  She has a fifth novel in progress that she is seven chapters into, and a sixth that is in its outlining stage, and a seventh that she is preparing for query.)

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Why is it difficult to do something that we love, everyday?

The answer, I think, lies in this one word: Distractions. There is always something, or the other, that keeps us from doing what we want.

Our world today continues to have 24 hours in a day, but the number of things – useful as well as not so useful – we can do in these 24 hours has increased exponentially. Some of these things can be avoided easily, but some others seem absolutely necessary for our survival.

The way to avoid distractions, therefore, consists of three steps:

a) Identifying things that we should not be doing at all.

The first step in avoiding distractions is to identify what these distractions really are. Watching too much TV, chatting with friends, spending too much time online could be some of the things that are distracting you. Not only are these activities distracting, but they also suck valuable time from your day. You could add more time to your day by simply avoiding these activities.

I am sure if you pay close attention to the things you do everyday, you will easily be able to identify the things that you can easily avoid. These are typically things that you do just for the sake of doing them. You could add more time to your day by simply avoiding these activities.

b) Identifying things that are useful, and optimizing the way we do them.

There are many things that we do on any given day that are useful to us, but the way we do them ends up taking more time than it should. Thus we end up reducing the number of hours we have in our day.

For example, if I have to write a report on something, I would do it best if I do it when I am totally focused. If I am not focused, or I am multitasking, I may end up taking more time in completing the report than I ideally should have. Using Twitter and Facebook are two activities that most blogger and writers cannot avoid these days. These can, however, end up taking up huge amount of your time – time that you don’t have. So, we need to find the right tools that can help us in optimising the way we spend time on these sites.

c) Focusing on the absolutely essential.

The last step in avoiding distractions is to focus on the activities that we want to do, and that we need to do in order to make the most of the time that is available to us. Most of the time we go about living our day without paying deliberate attention to the things we are doing. This needs to be changed.

We need to pay attention to the things that we need to do so that we are able to do them without a miss. If we are not focused, it is quite probable that we are going to miss doing what we want to do most.

How do you avoid distractions?

This is great, and writers should get excited about what they are doing. The problem comes when the writer gets so excited that they forget to become their own critic.

Here are five mistakes that new writers often make.

Telling, Not Showing

This is arguably the most important advice any novelist will receive. You never want to simply tell a story. Telling is boring. An author often makes the mistake of “telling” because they understand their characters so well. They know the scenes and how the characters react in certain situations. The reader does not know this.

Showing comes from the characters themselves. The story is told through their eyes and ears. This is what truly makes a reader fall in love with your story. Don’t just tell them that your character is scared. Show them how the character is scared.

Not Reading

Every good writer is a good reader. It sounds odd, but it is true. Reading is much more important than one might think. It helps you know what is popular or trending for the market in which you are writing. It lets you know what stories are not being published, and gives you an idea of which stories will then take more effort to get publishers to consider. Best of all, reading helps you learn how to write. Pay attention to how other authors start their stories and end their stories. Look at the words they use and how they phrase things. These can be used as learning tools to help you discover your own way of creating words that matter.

Imitation

We all have one author that we admire. They are the person we hope to someday be. We look at their words and aspire to be able to create that same magic ourselves. As much as you admire that author, remember not to imitate them. Imitation might be considered flattery in some professions, but in the writing world imitation can be considered a form of plagiarism. Every author should have their own unique voice. Maybe you don’t know what yours is yet, and that’s fine. If you keep writing and experimenting, you will find it.

Submitting Too Soon

In the excitement of finishing a new novel, some writers send out their story way too soon. Step away for a while and let your piece rest. Go back later and take another look at it. Find a critique partner or a beta reader to give you some pointers. Never jump the gun and send your work out when it isn’t ready. If you do, the chances of rejection are higher. This isn’t because the piece is necessarily bad. Maybe it just needs more details and some reworking. Take the time to make your story the best it can be before you submit.

Giving Up!

Getting published is not an easy task. For some authors it can take years to get published. Don’t be surprised when you get a stack of rejections in the mail. It’s the nature of the business. Rejections are hard to handle, but look at them as a learning experience. Keep writing. Keep believing in your ability to tell a story people want to read. Most of all, don’t give up.

(This a guest post by Mary Ellen Quigley. Mary is a paranormal romance author from Indiana, who got the writing bug as a child in the fifth grade. She started writing her first novel “Nocturne” in 2006, which is yet to be released. In 2009, Mary began writing “The Wild Side”  which was released in the summer of 2011. You can read more of her posts on her blog.)

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You think that you have come up with a great story, and your friend accuses you of Plagiarism. There are very few things in life, let me tell you, that can irritate you more than such an accusation.

I, naturally, asked my friend about the part of my story that sounded copied.

“All of it,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Then he continued to tell me how my story was a copy of the so many stories he had read before.

“Your story has a hero, who gets into trouble with a few bad guys, and in the end manages to solve all of his problems easily. Isn’t that how all stories go?”

For a while, I was troubled by what he said, because what he said was true.

I had to ask myself how my story was different from the so many others that have been written before me.

Eventually, however, I saw light, and realised that the search for uniqueness is something that may have ended many a writer’s careers.

The Fact is: There is almost nothing that has not been written before.

Maybe, if you keep writing long enough, you may be able to write something truly unique, but till then you will have to make do with whatever you can write. If you keep waiting till you come up with something unique, your wait may well last forever.

Stories are like finger prints.

On the face of it all fingerprints seem alike, but the reality is that the six billion people on our planet have unique fingerprints, and no two people have the same finger prints.

Similarly, the basic ideas behind the stories we write may be similar, but each story becomes unique when we add our own touches to the story. These touches are a result of our life experiences, and our reaction to these experiences. All of us come across different situations in life, and the way we deal with these situations is also different.

When we begin to use these experiences in our writing, our stories start becoming unique. We may take a familiar plot, and add to it our own style, and the result would be unique.

An excellent example of this phenomenon can be seen in James Cameron’s Avatar. The basic premise of the movie is nothing special – the rogue hero infiltrates the enemy camp, falls in love with the enemy, finds true love, has a change of heart and, in the end, good defeats evil.

However, anyone who has seen the movie will definitely agree with me when I say that the movie was something that none of us had ever seen before.

So, stop worrying about trying to be unique, because whatever you write in your own style will automatically be unique. Wouldn’t you agree?

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Now, why one would want to be read is a question whose answer may vary from one writer to another, but, whatever one’s reason for wanting to be read may be, there is another question that needs to be asked by every writer:

“Why should someone want to read what you write?”

If we look at blogs, it is easy to see that some of our favourite blogs are those which educate us, in addition to entertaining us. In today’s world, there are more than enough sources of entertainment, but the sources of education are few and far between. Most blogs that are popular today are a great source of knowledge for people who want to educate themselves about the subject the blogger writes about.

In that sense, every writer is a teacher.

Different teachers use different techniques to hold the interest of their students, and so do different writers use different styles to keep their readers engrossed. But, however stylish your writing may be, it won’t attract readers unless you add substance to your style.

Adding substance to your writing is a matter of learning. Before you can teach others, you must first learn yourself. This is the reason why most writers, even fiction writers, research the subject of their work extensively before sitting down to write.

As Richard Bach has said, “You teach best, what you need to learn most.”

I couldn’t agree more with his words. So, if you want to be an effective blogger, you need to have a strong passion for the subject you blog about. If, like me on this blog, you, too, blog about writing, you need to have a strong desire to keep learning and practising.

You will only be able to teach well, if you, yourself, are willing to learn. Wouldn’t you agree?

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