I've always loved reading. As a kid, I'd get lost for days in stories that swept me away to distant lands or plunged me into a murky abyss.
It wasn't until much later that I realized how pivotal those books were in molding me into the writer I am today. Let's look at four ways reading has shaped our work.
photo credit: Kevin Conor Keller via photopin cc
#1 & 2: Good and Evil
My deep belief in heroes spawned from the books I read as a child. Think back to your favorite fables and novels. There was always conflict, and that struggle was typically between a hero and a villain. I credit these stories for giving me a real sense of right and wrong.
One of my favorite series of all time is the Icewind Dale Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. Not only have I read the series countless times, Salvatore implanted in me the idea of fantastic heroes who would do anything to vanquish evil and protect each other. Characters like Wulfgar the barbarian, Drizzt the dark elf ranger and Bruenor the dwarf help shape every character I write about today.
#3 & 4: Love and Hate
Millions of readers flock to novels that portray the timeless tug-of-war between love and hate. It's a theme that easily permeates writing. Many of us learned to be hopeless romantics because of a book. We've also experienced the deepest and darkest hate through the interaction of characters on a page.
Pride and Prejudice is still my gold standard. Not only is the writing timeless and elegant, but the back and forth of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley and Jane, Lydia and Mr. Wickham, perfectly paint the portrait of the timeless pull of love and hate. Austen's tale reminds me to keep an open mind, always be on the lookout for love, and avoid hate and prejudice.
It Never Leaves Us
Reading at a young age shapes us into the writers we become later in life. It still amazes me when I find a similarity in my work to a book I read years ago. I didn't know it was there and then—POW!—it hits me.
That influence will never go away. It's a stamp on our subconscious that subtly shapes the ebb and flow of our dialogue, the rise and fall of our conflict, and the push and pull of our characters.
To become better writers maybe we should look back instead of searching forward. It's like a time capsule, buried for years and waiting for us to pull it out and discover its secrets. Let's all grab a shovel. Who knows what we might unearth…
How has reading shaped you?
PRACTICE
For the next fifteen minutes, write in the style of a book that had a profound effect on your writing. You might even use the same theme or characters.
Post your practice in the comments section below and please provide feedback for your peers.
The very first books I read were The Bobbsey Twins series. Anyone remember them? After that I graduated to The Hardy boys, which I see are still around today. Then it was The Lone Ranger. After that I got my teeth into the G.A. Henty adventure stories.
Because there was very little to cater for anyone outgrowing children’s books I found myself digging into Non-Fiction. Exploration Fawcett, the chronicle of a retired American colonel who must have been the first Westerner to explore the length of the Amazon river, held me spellbound with his descriptions of Anacondas plucking men out of canoes and explorers dying lonely deaths in isolated parts of the jungle. Truth was indeed stranger than fiction!
Today I still search for adventure, and discovery. I go for the deep point of view, searching the recesses of people’s minds to find out why they do what they do.
The Hardy Boys were amazing. I loved reading through the mysteries pretending I was there with them.
Winnie — Yes, I remember the Bobsey Twins. After that I graduated to Nancy Drew and the Dana Sisters.
I don’t see them on the library shelves any more. Pity.
After I’d posted my piece I realised I had more to say. (Fifteen minutes isn’t enough time, is it?)
When i was about ten I decided to try Shakespeare, seeing he was so highly thought of. I struggled through many plays, including Henry V. (I’d seen the movie so I had an idea what it was all about).
Apart from the ‘forsooths” and the ‘methinks’ I understood very little, but it all somehow felt right. I’d mouth the words as I read and felt their rhythm and heard their music in my head.
Two years later I got hold of Run Rabbit Run by John Updike. Again, I couldn’t follow the story, but I was fascinated by the way the author played with words; when linked up with the rest of the paragraph they produced something I couldn’t put my finger on.
But again his writing just felt ‘right’.
Today when I face a blank page I fall automatically into the dense and compact writing style of novellas. I believe Shakespeare and John Updike had something to do with that.
I felt the same, but like you said, the act of reading it somehow got the general points across in my head. I had a teacher once who dissected Shakespeare and Chaucer line by line. It was fascinating to see the depth encased by a single sentence. Thanks again for sharing!
Children are always the preschool, they absorb things very fast, the article gave me many interesting suggestions. I am a teacher but also as a mother of an adorable kids. I realize that their actions will have a huge impact on the formation of their personality.
It’s amazing what they pick up on and what they absorb. I have to remind myself of that daily with my kids 🙂
The first series I remember reading was Sweet Pickles. All of the characters were animals and there names were whatever animal they were such as Walrus or Stork. I remember I mispronounced Nightingale’s name. I would pronounce it Nu-teen-gl. They were good books for little kids. Later I went on to many many more such as Encyclopedia Brown and I liked a lot of historical books as well. Hmm, I guess I was a history buff then too, lol.
Encyclopedia Brown! Now I’m gonna have to get those out for my kids. Thanks for the comments and the reminder!
The earliest books I read were Doctor Seuss and others like that. I think we had the complete collection, or close to it. Then I graduated to Hardy Boys (again, the complete collection).
Together those probably primed my love for SF&F and thrillers. The first SF book I remember reading was the Halcyon Drift by Brian M Stapleford. I hardly remember the story (I see it’s available on Kindle now, maybe I’ll reread it), but I remember it impressed me.
But probably the ones that impressed me the most were the Dune series. I remember more than once being unable to put it down, reading all night, and having to go to school with no sleep.
I was an obsessive reader. If I wasn’t busy with something else I had to be reading. Anything I could find. The back of the cereal box with breakfast. National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Encyclopedia Britannica. Even Mom’s Chatelaine’s if there was nothing better 8^). I quit reading for many years (starting in university) because I couldn’t control myself once I started a book, and it interfered too much with the rest of my life. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve learned just enough self-control to go back to reading again (and still it’s hard to put it down sometimes when I know I need to). I take my Kindle with me everywhere I go. I no longer mind long waits in line, at the doctor’s office, etc. 8^). I’ve read at least 50 books in the last two years.
Good stuff. I had a similar experience. Funny how I stopped reading in college when they told me I “had to”
Actually, now that I think about it, I never really stopped, I just went to reading non-fiction instead. Those are easier to put down 8^).
That’s funny! I was the same way even in junior high/high school . . . if teacher said I must read a book I resisted! Missed out on some damn good literature that way.
omg I was exactly like that too, the cereal box, World Book Encyclopedia, the J. C. Whitney catalog; Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe (Stevenson and Defoe respectively) at least eight times apiece! obsessive-compulsive reader that I have been, I am not sorry. 🙂
Cool! I don’t regret it either, except for all those times sitting at work/school thinking “why did I do this to myself?” 8^). I think I regret stopping for so many years. Didn’t realize how much I missed it.
😉
I learned to read from Dr. Seuss. Then I read The Bobsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Dana Sisters (also amateur sleuths). But I also read Greek mythology, Bible Stories for young people, and Mary Poppins. And Bambi. OMG I cried my eyes out over that one!! Mary Poppins was my favorite for a long time. I learned that amazing things can hide behind the most normal facade; but I also learned (along with the Banks children) that getting what you want may turn out not to be what you need. That as we “grow up” we forget things we knew when we were babies (such as how to talk to starlings.)
Great themes, Julie. Really love your line: “I learned that amazing things can hide behind the most normal facade” Ain’t it the truth 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Starlings? I gotta read that story for real.
Squire AndHow, Doctor Feelgood, and the illustrious publick winebbiber I spake to in the lane this morning having all prevailed upon me to set down the series of events detailing our shared voyage in search of that ultimate treasure which passeth all understanding, I take up my pen in the year of our Lord 20–to tell the marvelous story. . .
I also enjoyed your piece!
Thank you Winnie!
I never thought about a theme that ran through my reading before. When I think about my favorites – Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, the Narnia Series, The Rescuers, Rudyard Kipling, Tolkien, and so many more – I realize that they are all about exploring.
I am a ridiculously curious person – I can’t absorb enough information and data. I’m constantly learning new things (right now it’s coding HTML5 and CSS3). I’ve got an MA in history and completed most of a PhD program in history. Why would I do such a thing? Because history is a great discipline for curious people – although I never thought about that until just now.
All of this boils down to curiousity. My childhood reading not only fueled my curiosity, it also made it okay to be curious. After all, if the people in the books always wanted to know what the answer was, why shouldn’t I?
Thanks for this. I love remembering my favorite childhood books. But thinking about them in this way has sparked a bit of creativity and energy – time to go exploit it!
Do it! I love the thought of exploring both in and out of a book. That’s exactly what reading did to me. It led to disassembling things I shouldn’t have and sneaking through the woods. Thanks for your thoughts, Rhonda!
I wholeheartedly agree with you , Rhonda, about curiosity and the reading we did as children encouraging our curiosity — it’s a habit I’ve never broken (well, 2 habits, the reading *and* the curiosity, even after the latter one has gotten me in trouble more than once!) I cut my teeth on Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, then (surreptitiously!) my big sister’s Nancy Drew mysteries, then the Hardy Boys and Brains Benton . . . and always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to write good books someday. And re-visiting certainly can spark one’s creativity!
Squire Andhow, Doctor Goodhope, the publick wine-bibber with which I spake this morning in the lane, and all the rest having all prevailed upon me to set down an account of our historic and shared voyage in search of that understanding that passes all, I take up my pen in the year of our Lord 20– , and endeavor to detail the series of life-changing events that has brought us to this island of respite . . . .
“No, no, no, no, no, and an end of it!” thundered Captain Capt’list, “I’ll have no mere fiddlers in the employ of my shoppe! You are found out, sir! And if it comes to swingin’, swing all, say I!” My heart heavy within me, I bowed and exited the shoppe with dragging feet of despondency, to seek a certain establishment in the next village which the Squire was known to frequent, in hopes that he might spring for a comforting round of grog, and perhaps bless me with a measure of his perspicacious sympathy.
“Aye, the black-hearted scoundrel cares naught but for his account-book, and wist not which way the trade winds blow. He’d not be allowed to head a fisherman’s stall in *my* district!”
As for me, I agreed implicitly with the Squire’s exclamatory assessment, and hated the Captain deeply. . . .
Transformed by the intervening years by our common struggle, we have at last arrived at forgiveness for human frailty, our own no less than that of other men, and for this wisdom which stands us in such good stead for a brightened future, I remember with ironic good-humor the Captain’s squawking — “Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”
Holy cow! I wish I had your talent 🙂
Thank you so much, Carlos! 🙂
I loved this post because it is 100% true. I didn’t do a lot of solo reading at a young age. (Being dyslexic it was something I was not good at and something I did not enjoy.) But I will never forget my mom reading me The “Cam Jansen” series and “Goosebumps” series before bed.
Both sets of books helped shape my love for a good mystery and adventure. Plus the way my mom read them, always ending the nights reading on the most interesting part, always made me come back for more. Only recently have I found that these books influences have made their way into my own writing.
So happy to hear your story. I’ve gone back to read some of my childhood faves and loved them once again. Happy writing!
Emma Dixon was enjoying a pleasant stroll one day late in June, whilst comparing her mother’s expectations with her own ambitions and desires. Her twenty-first birthday was but a few days gone, and with it had arrived the inevitable accompaniment of a renewal in her mother’s anxieties regarding her eldest daughter’s marriage prospects. Emma had not the slightest inclination to commit her affections and attentions to another, regardless of the gentleman’s fortune or social status. Frequent were the disputes regarding their conflicting opinions, and more often than not the intervention of her father was required to settle these disagreements in a fashion that was offensive to neither.
Emma’s mother was customarily an anxious, fretful woman, who seldom relaxed or engaged in leisurely activities, and one who strived for complete control in any situation which might concern her in the least degree. Ever since Mary Dixon had settled into domestic life, she appeared to have one objective and one only: to search for and provide each of her daughters with respectable, wealthy gentleman who would pay them every necessary attention – while
catering to any reasonable wishes they may care to have – for the rest
of their lives. As much as it pained Emma to torment her mother so, by the
preservation of her unconventional beliefs regarding marriage, she hadn’t the resolution to act in so contradictory a fashion to her feelings, merely for the sake of her mother’s peace of mind.
In contrast, Emma’s father retained rather a more complacent, optimistic attitude towards life. His accepting, tolerant nature and pleasing, refined manners left all who met his acquaintance with an impression of affability and good breeding. Robert Dixon’s views in relation to his daughters’ marital potential did in no way coincide with his wife’s; his primary interest lay in ensuring their future peace and happiness, and he judged marriage to be no guarantee of this, except in exceptional circumstances.
… [Attempted in the spirit of Jane Austen]
Very good!
I felt it, James. Like Austen, I had to take my time to digest the words instead of skimming. Love that feel. It’s like vintage wine, savored not chugged. Thanks for joining in!
Thank YOU, Carlos
Thank you for sharing this, to me it’s really worth reading and can feel something about what’s around.
I have always enjoyed the opportunity to read and escape into a book. When that book swept you off of page 24 right into the middle of a mystery to solve, all the better.
It’s impossible to know exactly how someone feels without walking in their shoes. Empathy, truly connecting and understanding others, is something that can come from reading fiction. I think reading helps us identify with others in a unique way. I didn’t travel much as a kid, but my world was enhanced with these great stories.
Thanks for the comments, Skip. Your points are spot on, namely: “reading helps us identify with others in a unique way” and “my world was enhanced with these great stories”.
Mother Goose and Grimms Fairy Tales shaped me, along with anything about horses. Later as a teen I became fascinated with stories about people with disabilities. Interestingly, I had horses and became a spec ed teacher. As a young adult I discovered sci fi, and have become a total sci fi, and fantasy junkie. I really have not tried to write either. Now I seem to want to tell stories about traveling. Wonder if that means I will really get the RV.
Thanks for the comments. I loving seeing how the themes of horses and disability stayed engrained and shaped who you’ve become. Can’t wait to see where travel leads you!
Thank you. You wrote a good article. Thought provoking.
Children’s ways of thinking and not just adults so let’s pay attention to these elements would be for children to develop and reach the best possible.