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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32551
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The approach I have taken is to be aware of that possibility - of becoming contaminated. I would argue -

1. You **want** to be contaminated by **good style.**

2. You want to write **your own ideas** in your own voice.

3. You want to tell your story.

So - **write your story**. Read similar books alongside your effort, and maintain awareness of the effect of one activity on the other.

You will hopefully find that you can read good stories and see 'how' the author achieves a certain effect. For example, the simple sentence:

_He remembered hiding in a cupboard as a child, every time his father was drunk_

^^^ placed in the middle of an adult campaign of one sort or another - effectively communicates a wealth of information and emotion. This is a tool that one can learn from reading other authors.

It hadn't occurred to me to use a simple one-line memory like this in the middle of narrative about something else. Seeing it, and reading it as a _writer_, and recognizing the effect of that sentence on me as a _reader_, gives me a new tool.

That's the sort of thing you want from reading books. Not ideas, but ways to effectively communicate your ideas.

Original score: 5