Reading as Writers: The Art of Study

Ah, summer. The time when bookish appetites transform into ferocious beasts (being a working student is no joke!).

A couple of months ago, I picked up Heather Sellers’s Chapter after Chapter (affiliate link) at the recommendation of Lucy Flint from The Lionhearted Writing Life. And I was instantly hooked.

Against my usual book dragon tendencies, I’m working through this book slowly to get the most out of this first run. Like bathing in the warm sun an hour more than usual after a frigid winter.

One of the chapters that caught my attention is titled “Book 100.” In the exercise, Heather Sellers encourages us to find, read, and study 100 books like the one we are writing.

So if you’re writing a dramatic romance, you might list some of Nicholas Sparks‘s novels. Or if you’re writing horror, Stephen King might make the list.

While reading, the objective is to look for the devices that work or falter, structure that enhances the plot or weakens. Absorbing the tone, identifying the tropes, noticing the pace. Essentially, we’re learning from others so we become masters of our craft.

With all we need to gather in the limited time we have with these lovely tomes, how do we get the most out of our study?

Diving in & Devouring

1. Prepare. Have a notebook or a note-taking app ready. Personally, I use Evernote with separate notes for the aha! moments in the story, the instances that didn’t work for me, and for quotes that resonate in my soul.
2. Interact. Either annotate on the book itself (if you own it) or use sticky notes. Tabs on physical books or bookmarks on ebooks does wonders in helping you back track to the moments when the action was building and you didn’t want to stop to write things down just yet.
3. Note. After each reading session, take five minutes to reflect on what you’ve read and the craftsmanship you witnessed. How could you emulate the same atmosphere or how would you write the passage differently? Consider writing a note to the author. Do it. I dare you. 😉

Finding the process that works best for you won’t happen by the end of your first book study. Experiment with different routines and learn to not get too attached to any one process.

Keep learning, keep growing, keep reading. Here’s to creating the best versions of our stories! We’re all trying to juggle flaming chainsaws, after all.