the only bit of unarguable advice on how to improve as a writer i'll endorse is this: read fucking everything you can get your hands on. fiction, nonfiction, essays, articles, poetry. all of it - ThreadSky

bbolander.bsky.social • 173 days ago

the only bit of unarguable advice on how to improve as a writer i'll endorse is this: read fucking everything you can get your hands on. fiction, nonfiction, essays, articles, poetry. all of it

Reposted from Tade Thompson

Comments

harmonygritz.bsky.social•173 days ago

I've been kinda bummed out the past couple of weeks, trying to get momentum in fall classes. What if I share this "famous quotation" with my students? (Some claim to be readers but a lot aren't, it's an ongoing convo.)

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

i wish somebody had given me that advice even earlier on, although i figured it out pretty quick just because my tastes have always been every whichaway

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

film criticism, classic lit, big books on history. don't just read one thing

powderr705.bsky.social•173 days ago

https://youtu.be/NZ5SLsrWTuk?si=jNLyBtpArJVDl6hL

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

even if it doesn't feel like you're learning anything from it, i promise you are

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

one of my favorite books is michael azerrad's our band could be your life, which is just a bunch of essays about several bands coming up in the indie rock scenes of the 80s. incredible writing, wildly readable

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

roger ebert was a fantastic essayist as well as a top-notch reviewer

https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/i-met-a-character-from-dickens

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

i got a print subscription to texas monthly this year just because they hire so many excellent writers!

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/trigger/

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

more recently i love everything @rbuas.bsky.social writes, incredible essayist chops

https://www.thebeliever.net/logger/coney-island/

kenlowery.bsky.social•173 days ago

Variety is so key. I feel like I can spot a genre writer who only reads the kind of stuff they write at 20 paces.

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

like where do you even get fresh ideas if you read like that, half of the ideas i get happen while i'm reading history or something. the entire reason i started writing was because of stuff i studied in my archaeology degree!

caitlinrozakis.bsky.social•173 days ago

Seriously - although it's even worse when someone who only reads one genre decides to write in another genre without having read anything in that genre.

tadethompson.bsky.social•173 days ago

The number of people I come across who profess to be writers, yet don't read (as in, they say they don't read) is not insignificant. It bothers me.

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

yeah or who just read one genre, i can't imagine

bbolander.bsky.social•173 days ago

i get so bored so easily, i'd lose my mind

paulduane.bsky.social•173 days ago

The number of filmmakers who don't watch films, and don't see anything wrong with that, also bothers me.

tadethompson.bsky.social•173 days ago

Like three months ago, I encountered a director who had never heard of Werner Herzog.

paulduane.bsky.social•173 days ago

That seems almost impossible. But I believe you

tadethompson.bsky.social•173 days ago

Hence my gaping mouth at the time.

kayorchison.bsky.social•173 days ago

That’s some real Garth Marenghi energy right there

tadethompson.bsky.social•173 days ago

At least this person had the insight to feel bad about it.

ninjafingers.bsky.social•173 days ago

I'd take it a step further. Filmmakers should read and prose writers should watch films! Watch TV, people. Watch films. Read comic books. Play video games that have a storyline.

Consume STORIES and writing in all of its forms.

bsfwriters.bsky.social•173 days ago

Damn straight!
We've always liked this one...

https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/

zanzjan.bsky.social•173 days ago

Also how to improve as a human being, I'd add.

spanishspy.bsky.social•170 days ago

📌

dashwallkick.bsky.social•173 days ago

getting a kindle helped me immensely to just grab stuff and try it out rather than waffle on what to buy

bpbegha.bsky.social•173 days ago

Go further than that. Immerse yourself in different kinds of media. Movies, shows, music, video games.

powderr705.bsky.social•173 days ago

https://youtu.be/NZ5SLsrWTuk?si=jNLyBtpArJVDl6hL

rogerjva.bsky.social•173 days ago

Yes, absolutely. I also try to make myself read stuff that I "don't get" or which confuses or frustrates me at first, because I've found that working through those feelings allows real discovery. My mind expands to accommodate the thing.

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