It's the only consistent advice offered to writers: If you want to be a better writer, spend more time reading and writing.
Confession: I have no problem with the writing. I do it nearly every day. I write for work. I write for fun. I write poetry that will never see the light of day and I write books that tween girls will devour.
Reading, on the other hand. I don't do enough of that.
Oh, I read. I read the newspaper and magazines and student papers and editor's notes. I occasionally find time for a NYT bestseller or some mindless chick lit. But the last time I read a classic? I can't even remember.
I used to feel a little guilty about that, but it's something with which I'm coming to peace. For starters, I lead a pretty crazy life. Freelancing means I'm writing for different clients nearly everyday. Teaching means I'm busy developing class lesson plans and grading papers. Parenthood means I'm driving kids to and from sporting events and dance classes and running forgotten books to school, oftentimes at a moment's notice.
My reading time doesn't come in the form of hours or entire afternoons. If I'm lucky, I can catch four pages here or another five pages there. Weighty literature can be difficult to digest when consumed in tiny bites over a period of weeks or even months.
Right now, my life is more suited to short stories. I love reading interviews in GQ or Outdoor magazine (both really well written). And I adore reading the sort of books I like to write: middle grade novels and young adult.
To that end, I challenge myself to read these books between now and Jan. 1, 2014:
WONDER by R. J. Palacio
OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon M. Draper
LEVERAGE by Joshua C. Cohen
