The Importance of Reading other Writers

I want to expand on something I briefly mentioned in my previous post, which concerned reading other writers while you attend to your own work. I think it’s imperative that writers have a strong enough handle on their own voice that they’re not swayed by other writers; rather, they’re enriched by them. Being able to embrace the character and nuances of other writers can be a tutorial if you let it be so!
I don’t just read other authors; I study how they present their stories. I scrutinize their craft, the choices they make as they lay out a story like pieces of a puzzle infused with their individual personality. It occurs to me that it’s not enough to have a good story; what matters is how it’s presented, for therein lays the magic of craft.
Recently, I read Valerie Martin’s “The Ghost of the Mary Celeste,” which I found by tripping across Pat Conroy’s engaging review. As I’m a shameless Conroy devotee, I grabbed the book with both hands and held on tight through this tale arranged like a finely woven tapestry. Reading it confirmed that crafting a story can be like a waltz. The beauty lays in the unexpected ornamentation of the writer. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to find a book that confirms it’s not what you say, but how you say it.
There is everything right about allowing yourself to be influenced by the excellence of other writers, although I’m aware excellence is subjective. I liken reading other writers to being a perpetual student: if I’m open-minded, I can come to the task with reverence and learn something; then there is only the giddiness of the pursuit, the ability to receive inspiration dealt from the hands of mentors I’ll probably never actually meet, but with whom I am linked through the love of language and the camaraderie of writing.

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