Writing has never been an exact science, however, I find that one of the best ways to better understand writing is to listen to the pros. An example of this would be in Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules for Writing, where he gives some insightful tips on how to better structure your writing process. For the most part, I’ve tended to learn more about writing through experience; making mistakes, and slowly learning what does and doesn’t work. So reading Stephen King’s advice on writing almost feels like cheating. His “3-month rule” for completing a rough draft, in particular, gives me a goal to shoot for with writing; if I don’t manage to reach it, then it tells me that I need to make some changes to my approach. That being said his tips are specifically geared towards writing creatively, which limits their effectiveness in the greater world of writing.
However, writing cannot exist does not exist in a vacuum– reading is an intrinsic part of the writing process that is often overlooked. You can’t write without knowing how to read and Doris Lessing’s writing On not winning the Nobel Prize, seems to understand this idea perfectly. Her argument makes me think about how I’ve fallen off of reading in recent years, and how significantly that must have impacted my development. I used to read religiously and I remember getting lost in the adventures that would take place within the confines of those books. Reading served as an exercise, allowing you to flex your imagination and testing your ability to engross yourself in a world that you might never see. The problem is that now you’re guaranteed to see it, and that’s unfortunately made reading a “lost art”.
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