How to Improve Writing by Reading
We do not learn how to speak by speaking alone, but by listening to the people around us use language every day and gradually picking up the rules. Similarly, we do not learn to be great writers just by writing, but by studying the writings of greater and more experienced writers than ourselves. The more great writing you read and the more intensely you interact with it, the more your own writing will improve.
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Instructions
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Read classical English language literature. Classic books have excellent language usage, deep messages and an important place in our culture. (See the list of classics in Resources.)
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Read books that you enjoy. Don't ignore books just because they haven't made it into the list of classics. You can learn a lot from nearly any type of writing that appeals to you, as long as it also challenges you.
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Stop at every chapter or even a couple of times per chapter to jot down some notes. Write what happened in the book, what you liked and what you didn't like, how the author made his point (or failed to) and what you think will happen next. The more you interact with the book, the more you will learn from it.
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Write copy changes. When you find a section that appeals to you, write it down. Then rewrite it, changing the topics and words but maintaining the structure. For example, if you liked the sentence: "He was so angry that, as he looked at the crowd a vague wavering miasma seemed to fill the space between them, as if the air itself were about to combust," you could rewrite it as "He was so happy that, as he listened to the orchestra a tingle of pleasure seemed to dance through the auditorium, as if the air itself were about to cry out in pleasure."
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Write alternate endings to stories. You can either write in your own style or try to write like the author.
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Keep a vocabulary book. Every time you come across a word you like, write down the word, the definition (either in your own words or from a dictionary) and the sentence it is used in in the book. This will help you learn new words for use in your own writing.
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