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Q&A Can I be a good writer without reading a lot?

I'll throw in my $0.02. I agree with many of the other answers saying that you don't have to necessarily read a lot to be a great author. I can't cite any authors that didn't read very much, but pe...

posted 10y ago by Jason Hutchinson‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:49:48Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/14393
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Jason Hutchinson‭ · 2019-12-08T03:49:48Z (almost 5 years ago)
I'll throw in my $0.02. I agree with many of the other answers saying that you don't **have** to necessarily read a lot to be a great author. I can't cite any authors that didn't read very much, but perhaps there are some that didn't.

Reading definitely will help your process. It doesn't really matter what you read, but you should read and communicate with other people as often as possible in order to hone your skills. If you are in school, try taking some writing intensive courses. It might be very difficult at first, but eventually you would be able to write a 20 or 30 page term paper with ease.

Also playing video games often may be a detriment to your communication skills. As a former video game addict, I could tell that it had a negative impact on me over time. The skills that make you a good gamer are the same skills that make you a poor writer. Games teach you to be impatient, and to make snap decisions. Writing on the other hand, is a much more patient process. It is better to slow down and think about what you are writing instead of just trying to force a bunch of words on paper. I'm not saying that you should quit gaming altogether, but it would be a good idea to limit the amount of time spent playing games to a few hours a week. Instead, you could be doing more things socially, or reading, or doing something completely different.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2014-11-11T16:07:04Z (about 10 years ago)
Original score: 1