When I first started writing, I mostly read the kinds of books I wanted to write. It made sense at the time because I thought if I loved a genre, then reading only that genre would help me write it better. And while that did help in some ways, I quickly realized that my writing wasn’t growing as much as I wanted it to. My stories started to sound the same, my characters felt too familiar, and I struggled to come up with new ideas. It felt like I was drawing from the same small well over and over again, and eventually, it began to run dry.
It wasn’t until I started reading outside my comfort zone that everything changed.
When you read widely across different genres, authors, and styles, you begin to notice things you wouldn’t have otherwise seen. A fantasy novel might teach you about worldbuilding and how to create rules for an entire universe, while a memoir can help you write more emotionally honest and deeply human characters. A mystery can teach you how to build suspense and keep readers turning the pages, while a collection of poetry can completely change the way you think about language, rhythm, and imagery. For me, one of the biggest surprises was how much nonfiction improved my fiction writing. Reading essays, biographies, and even history books gave me more depth to pull from when creating characters, settings, and conflicts. Suddenly, my writing felt richer because I was drawing from real-life experiences, cultures, and perspectives I’d never considered before.
The best way to improve your reading is to explore! Try reading books you’d normally never pick up. Try authors from different cultures, time periods, and genres. You don’t have to love every book you read (in fact, you probably won’t), but every single one will teach you something valuable. It may teach you something new that you love, or teach you things to avoid.
The more widely you read, the more unique and powerful your voice will become. By reading widely, it won’t just change the way that you write, but change the way you see the world.