4 Ways to Become a Better Writer (Pt. 1)

So you want to be a better writer? Maybe its for a blog, maybe its for your creative fiction, or maybe its just for essays assigned to you at school. Either way, over the next few days I will be giving you 4 Tips that will help you become a better writer. Here’s Tip #1:

1. Read a Lot

Stephen King:

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. . . .

It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true. If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but didn’t have time to read, I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

via Justin Taylor