5 BENEFITS OF READING TO WRITERS
Introduction:
The reading culture seems to be declining steadily around the world. A US Department of Labour continuous Time Use Survey reported by writer Caleb Crain showed that “between 2003 and 2016, the amount of time that the average American devoted to reading for personal interest on a daily basis dropped from 0.36 hours to 0.29 hours” and has continued its downward slide.
Similarly, an article on reading habits in Nigeria by Martha Yahi of the Mass Communication Department, University of Maidugri identified the same trend in Nigeria. In her words, “The reading culture which was common among Nigerian students, youths and adults in the past has been significantly eroded.” The same can be said of other countries across the globe.
I recall when I was in the secondary school in the late 1970’s and the university in the early 1980’s, you could easily identify students in town because they always had books with them, particularly novels, even during the holidays. Books, newspapers and magazines also flourished and people strived to know and discuss the ideas in them. Now most people are buried in their phones and laptops and not always for the best purposes.
There are many reasons for the reverse in practice. In the case of Nigeria, some of the factors identified by commentators as responsible for the prevailing poor reading culture are high cost of books, poor library facilities, greater television viewing due to the introduction of colour and multiplicity of choice with cable subscription, computers and the internet which have unleashed captivating and distracting entertainment plus the desire to make money quick due to the elevation of affluence over education and enlightenment.
While reading has the potential of building an enlightened and critical citizenry, this post addresses some of its specific benefits to writers- aspiring and practising.
I shall focus on creative writers in this piece and how you as such a writer can be enriched by avid reading of novels, plays, anthologies of poems and stories, among other documented materials.
5 Benefits of Reading to Writers
1. Inspiration:
Reading gives one an endless supply of what to write about. For instance, perusing a book about endangered species can inspire one to write a script about a poacher of wildlife in a game reserve for a short film. In the same vein, reading a novel about industrial espionage can give one ideas on other forms of corporate desperation to write about, like coerced headhunting.
The two examples below are: First, a poem inspired by media reports about women and girls who have suffered abuse and the trauma they face. Second, a story inspired by research reports on the negative influence of television entertainment on youths.
2. Building of vocabulary:
Reading increases the words at one’s disposal. This leads to graphic descriptions; trenchant discourses; and smooth, rather than jagged or incoherent narrations. A limited vocabulary manifests in repetition of words where a variety of synonyms would have relieved the resulting monotony, it makes composition of rhymes arduous, constrains fluid presentation of prose and traps one’s writing in a pedestrian mould.
The poem below shows how a wide vocabulary can help one write a monorhyme. Composing a poem that the last word in every line ends with the same or similar sounds, which convey the required meaning in each case requires a rich vocabulary.
3. Broadening of one’s horizons:
The expanse of knowledge a writer gains from reading results in more authentic and convincing creations. You may be a student or housewife but reading exposes you to the lives of lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants, computer programmers, etc. You can write about them in your work as though you were one of them. You may have lived in a little town all your life but reading takes you to big cities in your country and abroad. It also takes you to the countryside. Thus, your writing will be true to the situation in those places although you’ve never physically been there.
Reading also exposes you to other people’s cultures, worldviews and opinions about trending issues. These help in omniscient narration where you reveal the thoughts of your characters and in phrasing their conversations. You cannot accurately depict the cross section of views and experiences in society in your writing if you’re trapped in your own head. You need a regular glimpse into the lives, activities and words of others. Reading gives you unfettered access to that, especially with the explosion of posts and interactions through blogs, the social media and independent web sites. This is part of the reason I delve into the comment sections of posts often to see the divergent ways people see issues.
Below is a story I set in the Big Apple although I’ve never been to the US or to that city. The story also shows how different people view love and religion.
4. Instruction in writing techniques:
***Reading helps writers of poetry learn how to compose different types of rhymes and free verse, how to metrically arrange their verses, how to structure their poems as couplets, quatrains, sonnets, etc.
Below is the link to a poem of eight quatrains rhymed abab:
***Reading helps writers of creative fiction and non-fiction with examples of arresting story beginnings and endings; plot and character development; the use of dialogue, humour, suspense, narration and description; different points of view, and the like to enable them apply these techniques effectively in their own writing.
I hereby share a story that illustrates the use of humour and required register in a story (soccer terms):
Help! My Wife Is A Guy (Short Story)
***Reading helps playwrights to learn about the appropriate delineation of acts and scenes; vivid description to enable the proper building of sets during production; the use of action, dialogue and music; among other features that make for an entertaining and engaging play.
The use of lively dialogue is illustrated in this scene called “The Waiting Room” culled from the play, “The Death of an Insurance Salesman,” by D. M. Larson.
5. Relaxation:
Reading is a great way to relax and unwind. I love reading romance, detective and spy novels. Such reading provides escape that enables one to come back fresh to his or her work.
Conclusion:
It goes without saying that one cannot offer what one does not have. Reading enlarges one’s repertoire of knowledge and skills which invariably improve their writing output. Read and reread the physical books in your library and borrow more from colleagues, friends and relatives. Besides, with digital devices and the internet, reading materials have become inexhaustible. What you need is cultivation of interest and discipline to tap this endless resource. Voracious reading of books, journals, legacy and alternative media reports, blogs and social media posts by individuals, will keep you updated and sharpen your skills for higher heights in your writing career.
References
Crain, C. (2018, June 14). Why we don’t read, revisited. The New Yorker.
Yahi, M. (2019, September 22). Decline in reading culture in Nigeria. Blueprint newspaper. https://www.blueprint.ng/decline-in-reading-culture-in-nigeria/
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Exactly, lot’s of things distract the mind from learning . the ocean of knowledge which has be filled with the urge to read and learn new things has begin to dry up . students no longer want to bend down and read because something is always distracting them .
Thank you for your comment. We all need discipline to spend our time in a worthwhile manner.
Accurate and to the point!!. Thank you ma this will help me.
Glad to hear that!
Nice piece and educative
Thank you. God bless you!
It’s rather unfortunate that reading culture is declining drastically amongst the modern day students. Although, this piece is a wake up call for those who really desire to be good thinkers and writers in the nearest future.
Thank you ma’am for this wonderful guideline.
Thank you ma’am for this wonderful guideline. reading culture is declining drastically amongst the modern day students. This piece is
important for those who really desire to be good writers in the nearest future.
Thanks for dropping by.
Like Miss Iloka pointed out in her comment, distraction is what is the major cause of the plummeting reading culture in Nigeria. That distraction for me, is Social media, which youths nowadays spend majority of their time on
You can actually read on social media. It depends on who you follow and the kind of content you expose yourself to.
This really multivated me as i love reading variety of books and also would like to put something down but that’s where my problem comes in but i believe with these guidelines, i will do better.
Reading keeps one inspired and you need to be inspired to inspire others.
Reading opens the eyes of the heart.
When my dad told me that in their days of schooling, you can easily identify a student by the way they move around with books, I thought he made that up. But seeing it here made me confirm it. lol.
well, its no secret that students or in fact young people of these days do not read voraciously like we ought to. Rather, we spend our time on non frivolous activities. And when we decide to read, we don’t read for long, or we read because of every students (at least, most students) ‘nightmare’- Exams, or because we are forced to, or because we were given an assignment which requires us to read! However, it shouldn’t be so. Instead, as students we should read for pleasure, in our leisure time, we should be hungry for knowledge and ready to devour it whenever it is available whether in form of a a printed material or an article online. This applies especially to us in the field of writing like mass communicators.
Personally, I think articles like this should be published more often to invigorate students to read more.
This article spoke to me directly. My lost love for reading widely is back. It’s going to take a lot to get better and I am ready to make it work.
Really the reading culture amongst youth is drastically going down by the day
Reading culture is cultivated, that is consistency is very essential in building the habit of reading. This day we still have people that read but through online novel, magazine, newspapers etc but with less attention. This habit can be revived again through provision of free access to materials online and cheaper price for hardcopy materials.
This was an encouraging piece for me🥺 I have always been bothered by my lack of proficiency in writing and even my quick tendency to get bored of reading without a valid reason but with this piece, I now most definitely see the reasons and need to read as someone who very much wants to develop her writing skills and vocabulary.. Thank you ma
Reading helps in vocabulary development
Reading is important indeed it educate you about people culture and improves one morals this is amazing
Thank you so much ma for this! I learnt something new today.
I love reading because I know that the advantage of reading is limitless. God bless you Ma
Reading really broadens our horizon and expands our thoughts. Recently, I noticed a decline in my ability to come up with intellectual arguments and as well, write creatively. I needed no prophet to tell me I had stopped reading a long time ago.
Reading really goes a long way in providing the necessary ingredients needed to write
So accurate ma this will go a long way for me I’m glad i came across this beautiful piece.
This is a very insightful write up and I hope anyone that reads this would understand the importance of reading. Thanks Ma’am for this.
Reading sharpens our mind and develops one’s vocabulary.
Reading helps me travel the world while I am in one place. Thanks for this piece, Ma
For me I think reading is one of the best skills you can learn as a writer to improve many factors about your writing and this post says it all.
Thank you ma, reading surely does help to build our vocabulary.
Reading truly is an escape from one’s little town to the big cities that offer relief and refreshment to the mind. Thank you, Aunty Edith, for this beautiful piece.
It’s disheartening to see how people are spending less and less time on personal reading these days. While I may not be a saint in this regard, from the little reading I do I can attest to the incredible benefits of reading, especially in terms of vocabulary expansion, and gaining a broader perspective on life issues.
Very true ma! The habit of reading worthy books is becoming a lost culture. Reading helps one to write flawlessly based on what one has learnt overtime by consuming books of essence especially as a writer. I love this piece💕
Thank you Ma for this educative write up
The art of reading is not found in me at all but when it comes to novels i love reading those but at times i get to choose specific novels to read especially the one’s i feel are more interesting like the romance,suspense and the rest. I feel like reading is a tiring process especially when the book is boring but now i can see that no amount of reading even a little amount is useless because between those few moments something new gets registered. I just need to figure out how to make my reading more interesting and not like a work.
You’re doing it already. Reading novels is a great way to learn as I showed in the post, “Guidelines for Writing Effective Fiction.” What you need, perhaps, is to pay closer attention when you read to pick up new words and expressions, new facts, etc.
It goes without saying that reading has several advantages for young writers like broadening of horizons and improvement in vocabulary; however in my opinion, one of the main causes of the dwindling rate of reading amongst the youth is the elevation of affluence over education. This can be traced to the countless number of instances where capable individuals are turned down for job opportunities while the less capable ones are accepted solely on the basis of their relationship with the employers. This has therefore created a consciousness in the minds of the youths that success in the society is dependent not on “what you know” but “who you know”.
In my own opinion, these circumstances have contributed to the lack of enthusiasm for reading and education in general among the youths.
It goes without saying that reading has several advantages for young writers like broadening of horizons and improvement in vocabulary; however in my opinion, one of the main causes of the dwindling rate of reading amongst the youth is the elevation of affluence over education. This can be traced to the countless number of instances where capable individuals are turned down for job opportunities while the less capable ones are accepted solely on the basis of their relationship with the employers. This has therefore created a consciousness in the minds of the youths that success in the society is dependent not on “what you know” but “who you know”.
In my own opinion, these circumstances have contributed to the lack of enthusiasm for reading and education in general among the youths. I’d love to know your thoughts on the matter Ma…