Reading like a writer
One of the best things about being a writer is that you can call almost anything research. A relaxing holiday? No, no, I’m researching for a book set in Italy! You thought I ate all these biscuits because I’m greedy? Actually, my protagonist eats a pack of chocolate digestives in one sitting, and I need to experience the feeling so I can write about it authentically…
However, the best thing you can do as a writer is to read. Whether you read a good or bad book, it’ll teach you about the mechanics of plot, character, and prose – and will sharpen your instincts to figure out what makes a book work. And isn’t a love of reading why we got into this thing anyway?
Reading for plot
What happened, and when, and why? Plotting is hard!
Luckily, every story follows the same basic plot structure:
Beginning – Middle – End
Okay, so that might be a little simplistic. How about this?
Inciting Incident – Developments – Crisis – Resolution
In any story, the most important thing is to keep the plot moving. You might like to learn from thriller and crime novels – a genre renowned for its pace. When reading, make a note of every turning point, and what purpose it serves. You can even act as the writer’s editor – you might find a chapter that you think has no place in the narrative. Every chapter, every scene, should move the plot forwards.
Learn from: The Actuality by Paul Braddon (a Jericho success story!) – a masterclass in turning points, raising stakes, and creating peaks and valleys in a gripping plot.
Reading for character
The most important thing is to make your character sympathetic. This doesn’t mean they have to be likeable, but the reader must care about your protagonist’s journey – otherwise why would they read to the end? When reading, pay attention to why that protagonist is (or isn’t!) the perfect fit for that plot. If you can imagine another character taking their place, maybe that character isn’t strong enough…
To use a sitcom example, Leslie Knope is the ideal hero of Parks and Rec as, without her (sometimes misguided) enthusiasm, nothing would ever happen! Sure, Ron Swanson is my favourite character, but we can’t root for him in the same way as we do for Leslie, as unfortunately eating bacon isn’t a strong enough motivation!
Learn from: The Split by Laura Kay – We really root for Ally. We might disagree with what she wants, but we know what she needs, and we want her to get it!
Reading for prose
Prose is the foundation of your novel. It’s also one of the trickiest things to learn – you can follow plot structures, dive into hardcore character-building mode, but prose is something very personal to you.
The best thing to do is study the prose of the nearest book you can find.
Find a sentence you love? Why is that? Is the author’s vision clearly executed? Does it subtly foreshadow the ending?
Find a sentence you hate, or that you’re confused by? Why is that? Is it too long? Confusing? Does it change subject halfway through?
Now, bring forward the lessons you learned into your own writing.
Learn from: Tall Bones by Anna Bailey – I’m a broken record when it comes to this book, but it’s just so beautiful. I’ll leave you with (one of) my favourite sentences.
It is a small-town sort of night – the last that Whistling Ridge will see for many years to come, although nobody knows this yet – in the kind of town where coyotes chew on stray cigarette butts and packs of boys go howling at the moon.
I hope this helps on your writing journey! What are you reading at the moment? What is it teaching you about your writing craft? Let me know in the comments!
And, as always, do drop us an email at info@jerichowriters.com with any questions – we’re always happy to chat writing!
Nice sentence.
One thing that worries me in writing is the insistence on character arc. I write crime and in a series, so inevitably any change of character happens very slowly, or you are left without anything to change. My beta readers seem to have trouble with this… any ideas? Anything I should read to help with that?
I’m reading Agatha Christie’s other books under the name Mary Westmacote at the moment and Absent in the Spring is awesome.
Hey Georgina – that’s such an interesting question! Is your lead protagonist the detective/sleuth etc? I would say that you need to find a way in which each case uniquely challenges them. It might be at war with one of their flaws, be difficult because of personal affiliation (either someone they know is involved in the case, or it reminds them of a personal tragedy) etc. I’d recommend Nell Pattison’s Paige Northwood series, which begins with The Silent House. Her protagonist learns, grows, and has different challenges (especially regarding people coming back from her past) in the three instalments of the series. Steve Cavanaugh has also been very successful with his Eddie Flynn series – but I’ve only read one of them, so can’t quite comment on character development there!
I’ve still not read an Agatha Christie – but I was brought up on a diet of David Suchet as Poirot! I definitely need to get my hands on some of her books.
Thanks Elsie, I’ll have a look at Nell Pattison.
Yes, I have three detectives who fight over who will be the lead in that book, so there is a certain amount of humor in the game. They all have flaws perhaps I can find a way of slow development….
one reader suggested get a dog!
I love looking at new series so this should be fun.
Thanks,
Georgina
That sounds brilliant! And furry companions are always good – one of my favourite character tips I’ve ever heard is to make sure to give the character something outside of their main problem. Whether that’s a dog, a supportive friend, etc.
I’m currently reading all the Maigret books from start to finish. I’m on number six and it’ll take some time as George Simenon wrote 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Maigret! They’re surprisingly fresh and the characterisation of Maigret is fantastic. Lee Child is a fan and you can absolutely see the through line to Jack Reacher.
I love reading series as you experience the overarching character arc through the books plus the individual arcs of each story, it’s a great plate-juggling act to witness.
I always have several books on the go at one time and I’m trying to read more widely, from authors nothing like me, in settings I’ve never seen or scenarios I could never dream of. It stretches my imagination as a writer and a human! I recently read and adored Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin.
Love this Holly! Have you ever considered writing a series yourself?
Little Eyes looks so good – added to my list!
In little snippets of time between educating myself about marketing (!) I’m rereading The Parisian by Isabella Hammad and analyzing sentences – studying her prose, just as you mentioned, Elsie. That’s because she does some interesting things with narrative distance, especially 4th-5th level. I may even try to post about it on this forum eventually.
Sounds like you’re keeping very busy! Narrative distance can be really tricky to master, but it sounds like you’ve found a brilliant learning tool!
I think so, Elsie. Do you know the book? Compliments on putting up this post, it was very well done.
I’ve not heard of it before but had a Google and it looks brilliant! And thank you so much, I enjoyed writing it!
Nice expression, “I had a Google”. I’m going to use it.
It really is amazing to study books and see how much thought has gone into them, how stylistically different they are etc. Ooh, that looks like a really intriguing series!
Here’s where I confess this discussion scares me a bit because it takes me back to my secondary school years where I loved reading but didn’t so much love studying literature. My mother’s reaction when I only got a B in GCSE English literature is one of the two reasons I didn’t come to writing earlier. Neither will I forget turning up to my first supervision at university, admitting to my lecturer that I hadn’t understood the question and had copied large chunks of my answer from a book, and saying could I please drop the literature modules and try linguistics instead.
But that was decades ago. I read differently now, and I know (on most days) that I have got some ability as a writer. So therefore I believe I can learn this reading as a writer business and take useful lessons from it. Starting points for a slightly traumatised reader?
Hi Catherine – having to do something for a grade can often strip the fun out of it! After I finished my Literature degree I didn’t read a book for quite a while…
My main tip would be to take the pressure off yourself – you’re not doing this for anyone but yourself! Go to read a book with the intention of reading and nothing else. Then, just note down sentences that you like as you go along. Don’t worry about analysing them in the moment, you can go back to them when you fancy it.
Alternatively, why don’t you revisit some of your favourite books and approach them in a very analytical way? You already know them, so it’s not as though you’re missing out on the joy of reading! You could map out their plot, write character profiles for them (I find writing character profiles for other characters, or even people I know in real life, a good way to jog my memory and inspire traits I might want to use for my own characters!), etc.
I hope this helps! Best of luck with your reading and your writing!
Thanks for this Elsie! Before diving into my last round of re-writes, I took time off to immerse myself in A Fine Balance, Half of a Yellow Sun and All the Light we Cannot See. I enjoyed reading them critically and studying their different styles at structure and sentence level. And oh, gradual character development, escalation, causality – all huge lessons for me in my current WIP. I could only learn these elements from reading other work. Reading like a writer has been invaluable.
I’ve actually not read any of those – but I’ve read Americanah by the same author of Half of a Yellow Sun and absolutely loved it – that one is a masterclass in character development over time! So glad to hear that reading like a writer is a useful tool for you!
I love everything by Chimamanda Ngozi, including the Purple Hibiscus which showed me how little I knew about Nigeria.
Me too! She remains my favorite, and I’m still trying to figure out why. I think its the simplicity in her style, and her deep character development. It just feels warm, like a friend reading to you. 🙂
Yes, that and also, she is such a good story teller. With Half a Yellow Sun it was actually painful to read because she depicts the war so clearly.
Can I come and join her fan club please?
Hahaha! Let’s do!