by Ruth Belena

Created on: November 28, 2009

Everyone gains something by reading. You can become a better writer by reading and noticing how writers use words which inspire you or allow you to learn more through a clearer understanding. You should also be critical of any poor quality writing that annoys you, and of writing that fails to communicate anything because it is difficult to follow and hard to understand.

Writing is a form of communication and that makes it a two way process. You can only become a better writer by reading what other people write. Then you will develop your own writing style, increase your vocabulary, write what your readers want, and write what is more acceptable to editors and publishers.

1 - Reading helps to develop your writing style.

As a writer you should develop your own style of writing, but you also need to be aware of different writing styles and know how to adapt the way you write, depending on where and in what format your writing is to be published.

The best grammar checker you can use is your own insight into good quality writing. You will see an improvement to your own writing when you develop the ability, through regular reading, to spot errors and correct them, when editing your own work.

2 - Reading increases your vocabulary.

Reading is the best way there is to acquire a wider vocabulary. By absorbing the meaning of more words through reading, you write with more confidence, and spend less time consulting a dictionary or a thesaurus to find the right words.

3 - Reading helps you to publish or sell more of what you write

If you want to write fiction, you must know how different writers structure their novels, and what book publishers require in a full length novel.

You will have more publishing success when you study your writing market, and read as much as you can in your chosen genre, before you begin to write a novel. There is little point in writing thousands of words that will never be published because there is no demand for it, or because you have not fully understood the requirements of that genre.

You need to know what makes a good short story, if that is your market. If you want to write a drama, a script or a screenplay, you should read as many as you can to form an idea of the technicalities and formatting.

An Internet writer should know how to write effective web content, and the best way to do this is to read what others are writing online. Top ratings and the highest number of votes at article sites are not always the best guide; you need to know whose writing is getting the most visitors from search engines. Then you can see how those successful writers use keywords for search engine optimization in their articles, reviews or blog posts.

4 - Reading increases your knowledge

Unless you already possess all the knowledge you need to write your article, story or book, you will have to do some background reading and research. Your writing can only be convincing when you write about what you know. You will know more when you educate yourself by reading not only books, but also news items, articles, personal memoirs, historical documents and private papers.

Through reading you gain knowledge, and you learn to communicate more effectively. Reading is the key that opens the door to writing. What you read, and how much you read, are significant factors in becoming a better writer. New writers are often told the only way to learn how to become a better writer is to write, and write, and write. While this is true, it is also important for any aspiring writer to read, and read, and read.

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