The importance of making time to read

When you are spending so much of your time writing, it can be all too easy to find yourself with no time left for reading. And yet, as writers, we should always make an effort to find time to read. After all, for most of us, it was reading that first inspired us to become writers, and there are plenty of great reasons why we should continue to take the time now…

Find out what’s out there

Although you shouldn’t write a book of a particular genre simply because it’s really popular right now, it still makes sense for writers to know what’s popular so that they can get a sense of what’s out there and inspiring readers. This isn’t just important for defining current trends, but also so you know where your book fits in with everything else – something that you can really only get from reading widely and regularly.

Find new ideas

While plagiarism is never cool, other author’s books can still be a brilliant source of inspiration. Sometimes, reading someone else’s ideas can help to trigger your own ideas or encourage you to look at things in a different way. The source of the inspiration might not always be evident, but even just the feeling we get from a book can be a great source of material for our own work.

Build your knowledge

Reading lots means you’ll know lots. Well. It depends, I suppose, but I think it’s relatively safe to say that, generally speaking, the more you’ll read the more you’ll know. Even if you’re not a non-fiction reader, you can still pick up great pieces of information from fiction, and you never know when it might come in handy.

Improve your writing

It’s often said that reading a lot of books can help to improve your writing, and it’s often said for a reason. While the main way of improving your writing will always be to simply write, reading is also a great help. It can be hugely useful to see different styles in print, and you can learn a great deal about what works and doesn’t work for you.

Enjoy some quiet time

Finally, one of the best reasons to find time to read is for the sheer fun of it. We all need to take some time out now and again, and when you’ve spent all day struggling with your own manuscript, it’s wonderfully relaxing to take some time out with one that’s already finished, that you don’t need to edit again and beat into submission.