Reading to Write

I've mentioned before that I believe the best way to master the craft of writing is to read things written by better writers. I would even go so far as to argue that critical reading is in fact more essential than writing practice itself!

While working on a script-format short story today (to be posted this evening), I was feeling stuck. Thus, I went to my old Oscar Wilde anthology--who is my favorite playwright, with politest apologies to Shakespeare--in order to gain insight into how he incorporates stage directives between character dialogue. (Answer: he provides hardly any.)

Now, my Wilde anthology is 1,417 pages and weighs as much as you'd expect. I got my first e-reader in high school, so haven't actually read Wilde's plays in paper format since 7th or 8th grade (although I reread ag least one of his works every year, because his snark makes me giggle-snort). But my kindle currently has a broken screen, and thus I pulled out this book from behind its glass case, blew off the dust, and cracked it open.

Full disclosure: I have no idea what most of my handwritten notes here reference since I've forcefully purged all memories of ages 12-15 from my brain (highly recommended!). Most things I highlighted, I did so just because I liked Wilde's turn of phrase (or didn't understand a vocabulary word).

My reason for sharing this picture is twofold. First, because I remain obsessed with Oscar Wilde to this day and want to encourage people to read him (just look at my COG Forum profile name). But most importantly, I'm sharing because I think it's important for authors to acknowledge that we don't create or develop our style in a vacuum. My narrative voice will never be as scathingly witty as Wilde's (I wouldn't want it to be, to be honest, since I feel bad being mean to my characters!). But he's one of the writers who taught me that humor can be the most effective way to state truth, just as other of my favorite authors have taught me other lessons (like the stylistic difference in feel between "Rob said" and "said Rob"). If any of you like to write, I highly suggest that you approach every book as if it has something to teach, because even "bad" books can serve as guides on what not to do.

Reading to write has been one of my lifelong hobbies . . . although I do wish that younger me had the sense to use pencil instead of pen since she so rudely insisted on writing in margins.