[Writerpreneaur OS] Day 13 - Lesson 0205: Reading Twice as a Writer to Improve Your Craft.
(Notes from Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer.)
Writers read. Writers write. A lot of both. A. Lot.
They read popular works to absorb the structural and emotional patterns which made that book successful. So they can incorporate those patterns into their own works.
You must take a little trouble to learn to read as a writer. Every book is a specimen, an example, not merely a means of amusement.
The fear of losing the magic of being a casual reader makes students hesitant to analyze their favorite authors. When you have learned to read critically, you find that your pleasure is far deeper than it was when you read as an amateur; even an awful book becomes tolerable when you are engaged in probing it for the reasons for its stiff, unnatural effects.
At first, you find that the only way to read as a writer is to go over everything twice. Read the story, article, or novel to be studied rapidly and uncritically, as you did in the days when you had no responsibility to a book but to enjoy it. When you have finished, put it aside for a while, and take up a pencil and scratch pad.
First, make a short written synopsis of what you have just read. Now pass a kind of summary judgment on it: you liked it, or didn’t like it.
Enlarge on these flat statements. If you liked it, why did you?
Do any of the scenes stand out in your mind? Note these down.
Is the dialogue natural, or, if stylized, is the formality purposeful or a sign of the author’s limitations?
How does the author you have just read handle situations which would be difficult for you?
If it is a good book, your list of questions should be long and searching, your answers particularized as much as possible. If it is not especially good, it will be enough, at first, to find the weak spots in it and lay it aside. After answering your questions, compare them to the unanswered ones and explore for more information.
Start at the first word again, reading slowly and thoroughly, noting down your answers as they become plain to you. Mark any passage particularly well done, and especially if the author has used adroitly material which would be hard for you to handle. All you you can return for more study later.
Look for key elements that predict the ending. The character trait that brings about the major complication? Notice any parts that don't add to the story or are confusing. Don't assume the author is wrong until you're sure.
Read with every faculty alert. Notice the rhythm of the book, where it sped or slowed. Study scene transitions. How does the author describe time passing?
How does he contrast characters and setting?
Each writer will ask his own questions and find his own suggestive points. Save your notes for reference.
Learn how to use other people's work by reading popular books twice. Once you’ve mastered that skill, then you can read for fun and criticism at the same time.
This is the single method all great writers used to become great.