Does Reading Make You a Better Writer?

I’m a big reader. I love fiction books and I throw non-fiction in my queue every once in a while. But man do I get sucked into a good story. You can see what I’ve read so far this year on Goodreads!

I was thinking recently about how many writers are also big readers, and vice versa. Whether you write professionally, in a daily journal, or just for fun, a lot of writers enjoy reading. I started to wonder… Does reading make you a better writer? 

After doing some research, I found out that’s a real thing! According to Dr. Timothy Shanahan, “Reading and writing depend upon many of the same skills, strategies, and knowledge… about 70% of the variation in reading and writing abilities are shared.”

I will share some reasons you should start reading to become a better writer and how you can implement that practice into your routine.

Understanding the Relationship Between Reading and Writing

Reading and writing go hand in hand. They both involve similar cognitive processes, such as critical thinking and creativity. 

Writing requires critical thinking to ensure your content makes sense. You have to consider the flow and think about your reader. You learn to prioritize information and decide what to include in your writing. Reading, on the other hand, requires you to decipher the meaning behind words and analyze the context of the situation. You aren’t just passively consuming the information – you’re actively questioning and reflecting on what you’re reading.

Both reading and writing require creativity. While reading, you imagine the scene depicted on the page. It exposes you to new perspectives, cultures, experiences, and viewpoints. You learn to see things from different angles. Writing allows you to take what you imagine and describe it. It’s a form of self-expression that allows you to think outside the box and experiment with different thoughts and emotions.

Critical thinking and creativity make you a more innovative reader and writer.

Benefits of Reading for Writers

So now we know how reading and writing are connected. But what are some of the benefits of reading? Why should you start reading to make you a better writer?

Improved Vocabulary

Just like anything, writing takes practice. Your first blog isn’t going to be a masterpiece (mine sure wasn’t), but you learn along the way. Reading helps speed up this process a little bit. You’re introduced to new words, writing styles, and sentence structure that can influence your writing. 

I definitely noticed a difference in my writing after I picked up reading again. I took a little hiatus from reading when I was planning a wedding and honeymoon and buying a house in the same year, all while my fiance was working crazy hours at work. So, ya know, hobbies got pushed to the side.

Now that my life is boring again 🙃 I’ve picked up reading and have been averaging three to four books a month. The more I read, the more new words I’m introduced to. I notice I naturally use new words to describe concepts I’m writing about. 

Understanding Storytelling Techniques

Storytelling is one of the most effective forms of marketing and connecting with your audience. Resonating with and relating to your audience builds the know, like, and trust factor even faster. 

Are you more likely to work with someone who is also a single mom trying to build a business to support her kids or someone who markets themselves as having a magic formula to make a million dollars? 

I mean, making a million dollars with a $5 guide that takes you an hour to make sounds pretty nice, but it’s not realistic. I’d relate more to the person struggling along with me. 

The book Storynomics explores this concept. Author Robert McKee uses case studies to demonstrate how storytelling delivers results far better than traditional marketing and advertising strategies. 

Since I’ve started reading more, I find myself adding more personal stories to my writing. This blog about being an introverted entrepreneur is a good example of that.

Inspiration and Idea Generation

While my fantasy books about dragon riders and speaking telepathically with the love of your life (hellooooo Fourth Wing) don’t relate to the blogs I write for my clients, non-fiction books are a different story (ha, see what I did there?) You can absolutely use the concepts and ideas you learn in books to educate your audience. 

Just remember to always credit the author. 

Reading can spark creativity and give you inspiration for your next piece of content. Not to mention, you might learn a thing or two that can help you grow your business. You can write about how you took a concept you learned in a book and implemented it into your business strategy, and then share the results you got from it. Reading might even help you get over writer’s block!

There are tons of ways reading makes you a better writer. 

How to Incorporate Reading into Your Writing Routine

How can you find time to read? I understand it’s not always possible to binge an entire book on a weekend. You might have kids, a busy schedule, or are working overtime to build your business.

Find a Good Story

I find myself much more into reading when I’m addicted to the story. Find a book that makes you excited to pick it up again. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or nonfiction. These are some of my recommendations:

• The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach
• Everything is Figureoutable, Marie Forleo
• A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas
• The Inmate, Freida McFadden
• Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

Here’s the full list of books for female entrepreneurs with nonfiction and fiction options!

Diversify Your Reading

Read books in different genres and by various authors. I take multiple people’s book recommendations because everyone has different preferences and favorites. However, since my TBR list is ridiculously long, I check the Goodreads rating first. I usually won’t add anything to my TBR list with less than a 3.9 rating. I don’t have time for average books!

Diversifying your reading also means mixing it up between fiction and nonfiction. For me, I get sucked into fiction books and I LOVE them. But I get practical advice and takeaways from nonfiction books. I challenge myself to read one nonfiction book a month and save the fiction books for pure enjoyment. 

Potential Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Aside from being consumed with your latest book and neglecting your business 🙃, I can think of a few major issues with books influencing your business.

Consuming Too Much Content

Everyone has beliefs, strategies, and opinions about the best way to run a business. Taking too much advice shadows your personal experiences and beliefs. Being overly influenced by other people’s opinions will probably result in you feeling stressed by trying to implement a bunch of different strategies. 

Strategies that work for someone else might not work for you. And that’s okay. You don’t have to implement everything you learn. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. If you want to try something out, great. If you don’t, also great – you simply learned something new.

Reading by Itself Makes You a Better Writer

While I do believe reading makes you a better writer, you can’t rely on reading alone to develop your writing skills. You have to do the work. 

Add writing to your weekly routine. Give yourself time and space to sit down and write. It doesn’t matter what comes out – record your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs and you might find some nuggets of potential content in there.

I also recommend using a tool like Grammarly to help you develop spelling and grammar skills. Paste your copy in the tool and it will give you recommendations on how to improve. The free version will analyze your spelling and a little bit of grammar. The premium version will give you advanced recommendations like sentence structure and tone of voice.

Does Reading Make You a Better Writer?

I fully believe it does. There’s a significant relationship between reading and writing. It’s no wonder why so many writers are readers, too. Reading develops your writing skills and there are many ways to implement writing into your routine. If you’re ready to hire a writer who consistently develops their skills by reading, check out my blog writing services! I’m taking new clients now – will you be next? Contact me to chat!