Tuesday Pil
asked
Shannon Messenger:
So, I don't like to read classic books -- I don't even like them, in fact. (gasp, I'm a shame to society! :D ) Anyway, my friend has been telling me that if I don't read those classic books (like The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, etc . . .) then I'm not a good writer. But do I really HAVE to read classic books to be a good writer?
Shannon Messenger
Okay, here's something that will probably earn me a lot of gasps too:
I... don't like most of the classics either. And when I was in school, I didn't like ANY.
In fact, the reason I stopped reading (by the time I graduated college I never read anything unless it was assigned to me by a teacher) was because the classics were forced upon me so heavily. So I feel you. And no, I don't think you have to read every classic book to be a good writer.
BUT.
One thing film school instilled in me (more so than my english teachers ever did) was learning to see the artistic value in things I didn't necessarily like. Film has its own set of "classics" and... I didn't like most of them either (why is everything "classic" so serious and depressing and boring????) BUT, I could learn to see the ground-breaking camera work, the power of an actor's performance, the beauty of the production design, the unique pattern of editing, the style the director brought to every frame, etc. And all of that would have been important, had I continued in Hollywood.
Instead, I left Hollywood and decided to focus on writing a book. So I DID go back and reread some of the "classics" and forced myself to view them like I'd had to view those films. Studying the author's style and choice of words, and how they accomplished what they accomplished. Did I suddenly love the books? A...few. Mostly no. Like I said from the beginning, I still find most classics beyond boring. But I CAN see their value now. And I do feel like I learned from them.
But you know what else I learn from? Reading books like the ones I write. I'm not trying to write The Scarlet Letter. I'm trying to write the kind of fun books I wished I'd had more of as a kid and teen. So I read a TON of those too, and I read them the same way I learned to read the classics: studying them, asking myself what the author's doing that works (or doesn't work) for me, and learning from it.
The most important thing is to read. Writers MUST BE readers. Yes, that may mean learning a bit from the classics. But I promise, it's okay if you don't like them. Learn what you can, but don't let it kill your love of reading. Make time for the books you love, too.
I... don't like most of the classics either. And when I was in school, I didn't like ANY.
In fact, the reason I stopped reading (by the time I graduated college I never read anything unless it was assigned to me by a teacher) was because the classics were forced upon me so heavily. So I feel you. And no, I don't think you have to read every classic book to be a good writer.
BUT.
One thing film school instilled in me (more so than my english teachers ever did) was learning to see the artistic value in things I didn't necessarily like. Film has its own set of "classics" and... I didn't like most of them either (why is everything "classic" so serious and depressing and boring????) BUT, I could learn to see the ground-breaking camera work, the power of an actor's performance, the beauty of the production design, the unique pattern of editing, the style the director brought to every frame, etc. And all of that would have been important, had I continued in Hollywood.
Instead, I left Hollywood and decided to focus on writing a book. So I DID go back and reread some of the "classics" and forced myself to view them like I'd had to view those films. Studying the author's style and choice of words, and how they accomplished what they accomplished. Did I suddenly love the books? A...few. Mostly no. Like I said from the beginning, I still find most classics beyond boring. But I CAN see their value now. And I do feel like I learned from them.
But you know what else I learn from? Reading books like the ones I write. I'm not trying to write The Scarlet Letter. I'm trying to write the kind of fun books I wished I'd had more of as a kid and teen. So I read a TON of those too, and I read them the same way I learned to read the classics: studying them, asking myself what the author's doing that works (or doesn't work) for me, and learning from it.
The most important thing is to read. Writers MUST BE readers. Yes, that may mean learning a bit from the classics. But I promise, it's okay if you don't like them. Learn what you can, but don't let it kill your love of reading. Make time for the books you love, too.
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