Buiild your Writing Skills!

It might be over said, but that’s because it really is so true: a good writer is a good reader.

Here’s just a few tips on how to actually ✨implement✨ that piece of advice. It’s easy if you read with the intention of scouring out your do’s and ding’s.

📚 When you’re reading, what feels off?

I always find myself twisting my nose and bits here and bobs there whenever I read something. To improve your writing skill, it’s good to sniff that out!

What is the author doing and why isn’t it working? How do their less effective writing decisions affect your perception of the story, character, tone, or world?

🖊️ MY EXAMPLE

(ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas)

This author regularly intersperses a conversational tone throughout the otherwise standard prose.

Whenever I happen see the uses of “…” or certain interjections, I felt off put.

I think this is because the story is written in past tense, but the conversational interjections feel relative to the character’s “real time” experience.

Perhaps it would be more effective if the story was written in present tense or with a strong figural/character voice.

📚 Also keep an eye for what resonates while you’re reading!

When you feel sucked into the action or empathize strongly with the narrator, try to pinpoint what techniques the author is employing to create that effect.

Do they create a thrilling fast pace with short paragraphs? Do they evoke emotion with interesting word choice? Do they create tension by shifting character perspective?

🖊️ MY EXAMPLE

(The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison)

In this instance that I circled on pic 5, Morrison implemented a strikingly impactful (and technically incorrect) use of punctuation.

By connecting each word of the spoken dialogue with a dash, she forces the readers eye forward quickly.

It makes the quickly spat dialogue of the fussing grown up almost audible in a way that doesn’t make a descriptive dialogue tag necessary.

What a creative idea! I think that’s something I’m gonna steal for my own writings.

(Disclaimer: I’m just expressing my own personal taste in writing style and demonstrating how I might annotate and analyze my recreational reading to bolster my writing skills. I’m not striving to criticize anyone else’s style, taste, or preferences. Having unique opinions can create a unique voice!)

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