Do you have to like reading to write well?

Yes, you do.

Edit to add, I'm being unequivocal because you specified writing well. Naturally anyone can write at whichever level suits, but I do think reading is a fundamental requirement of writing *well*.

it's also polite. if we ask others to read what we write, it's only fair to read what they write too.

Yes, you do, imo. I don't understand why someone would want to write if they didn't like to read. It's like wanting to paint but not liking paintings; wanting to play an instrument but not liking music. I don't get it.

Please don't be afraid to read. If you're worried that your style will become too much influenced by one particular author, then read loads of different authors, because you can't subconsciously imitate all of them at once (or if you do, it'll be a totally new and unique voice anyway). Reading widely will help you to develop your writing. It won't hinder it or make you into a clone of another writer.

Aside from anything else, reading is fun. I wish I had a lot more time for reading. I barely get enough time for writing (lone parent, full time day job).

Not going to give feedback for the same reason as Maryn. When you get to 50 posts you can post it in the show your work section and you can message me and I'll give feedback on it there (when I get time, may not be right away). Critiquing (both giving and receiving) is a great way to develop your writing. I'd say this and reading widely are the two most important things.

I found the "writing like what I'm reading" stage was a developmental phase for me, and I'd argue it was an absolutely essential one. If you're reading something and find yourself picking up similar language rhythms, that means you're tuning into the less tangible aspect of that author's writing. Anybody can learn the rules of grammar; it's poetry that makes you an artist.

That doesn't mean you're doomed to imitate, or that you shouldn't try to shake your way out of it when you're conscious it's happening. But worrying about it will, I think, do nothing but hold you back from developing your own voice. You're not going to be able to write just like someone else, because they are not you - but that doesn't mean flexing your writing muscles in similar ways won't develop your personal set of skills.

Read a lot. Read what you love. Write a lot. It'll all shake out.

Yeah, I'll +1 not just "you probably need to enjoy reading" but puzzlement over how one can enjoy writing without enjoying reading.

I enjoy reading more than writing, really. If I could push a magical button every time I dreamt up something I'd like to read about, and have a well-told story seconds later, not sure I'd ever write?

If you are writing for pleasure, do what makes you happy.

If you want to get published by a reputable organization, I'm pretty doubtful a person can do that without being a good reader.

JJArcuis Please edit your post to remove the excerpt for crit.

This area isn't for crit. You're welcome to post the excerpt for crit in Share Your Work after you've engaged with the community and have 50 substantive posts.

Actually, I find that reading (and listening) helps my writing more than detracts from it.

For example, I'm working on a fantasy noir story. Now, it's my own world and characters, but I find that going back and picking up some of the old pulps and listening to the old detective radio shows from the late 40s/early 50s tunes my ear to make my dialogue feel like it could fit in with what's come before. Sure, I'm bringing my own touches and my own take on these themes, but it never hurts to go back and see how others do it.

As you said, you don't want to slavishly copy someone else's style, but like Neandermagon said, read widely. After a while, you'll spot things author A does well and something author B does that annoys you and so on. Eventualy, you'll incorporate some of their tricks into your own style.

Build on what's come before, but don't copy it.

I'll add another emphatic YES, because it's a point that simply cannot be overstated. Yes, yes, yes, you need to read a lot.

The upside to this answer to your fears of copying is this - the more you read, the less likely you are to adopt a single style.

JJArcuis said:

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It's not that I want to write. I need to write. The ideas are exploding from within my mind and the only way to keep them from drowning me is to write them out. I guess that's a strange concept. I'm sorry.

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No, that's super common. The question remains.

JJArcuis said:

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It's not that I want to write. I need to write. The ideas are exploding from within my mind and the only way to keep them from drowning me is to write them out. I guess that's a strange concept. I'm sorry.

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Then by all means, write them out. Just don't expect that they'll be written well. Reading develops an "ear" for writing. There are no shortcuts.

I'm not understanding something here: if you're not interested in publishing but are only writing as an outlet, and furthermore feel that editing ruins what you've written, then, honestly, does the quality of your writing matter??

Devil Ledbetter said:

Then by all means, write them out. Just don't expect that they'll be written well. Reading develops an "ear" for writing. There are no shortcuts.

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^
There you go. That's your answer. All laid out nicely

ps: I thought English was a second language. Why not write your stories in your first language?

You have to learn from copying others. That's how art works. You copy bits of what others have done until you have enough fragments of other people's thoughts and ideas that you can combine them into something no one has done before. Originality is a myth insofar that people can come up with something completely new in a vacuum. So no, you can't write well unless you read. Because while you might find inspiration and stories in places other than books, you can't learn how to use language, how to structure a sentence, or create pacing in a written scene or flow in a chapter anywhere else. You can't learn how to use imagery, how to write with a voice, or how to get into a character's head anywhere else. And without any of those things, you can't write well.

I'm a reluctant reader. I enjoy a book once I trust it and once I'm into it, but I am not the kind of author who posts memes about staying in reading a book or spending all her cash on books. I know far more about movies and the people involved with them than I do about authors. So I am hesitant to say one must "enjoy" reading in order to be an author simply because I feel like we have a very narrow view of what enjoying reading really entails. I struggle to find books to start reading, I struggle to read at all instead of watching TV or going out with friends. That being said, when I finally find a book that grabs my attention I read it practically in one sitting. So I definitely know I enjoy reading once I find that book to read, but I don't enjoy the process of finding that book to read and I have to work hard to remind myself to read. That I DO enjoy it.

Anyway, I know this is really no longer the point of the thread, but I wanted to post for any lurkers who feared maybe they weren't reading enough or in the "correct" way to be an author, that there are other ways to enjoy books than just what we see on social media. That reading can be hard for some of us, and it can take effort to pick up a book, but that doesn't mean we are any lesser for our struggles and that also the struggle is well worth it. In my opinion .

Well there you go. and Bob's your Uncle.

"I have to work hard to remind myself to read"

And yet you're a considerably published writer. So interesting. Although, somehow I do imagine that you've done enough reading for that to give you an 'ear' for prose, as DL puts it.

I do appreciate your pointing out that just because a person is not doing it this way or that, it doesn't mean that they are doing it wrong. Although, also, I think people are saying in this thread that you have to read a lot, rather than that you have to "enjoy reading".

The OP is writing here in a 2nd language. I have a strong reading 'appetite' in English, but I *do* have to make myself work at it in another language. (I think of writing in that language, too, but I definitely don't feel confident I have read enough to develop that ear...)

lots of people write without the desire to publish. Fanfiction.net is full of them and there's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure absolutewrite has a few. My mother in law writes for pleasure, with no desire to publish: shelves of thick binders, crammed with teeny tiny handwriting (she writes only by hand).

as before, my emphatic response was because you specified writing well. If you just want to write (for now, since you mention you might change your mind later) then nothing else matters at present re standards or publication, because the act alone is sufficient to be enjoyable. I would just write and not worry about it.

Or give Wattpadd a go if you're not concerned about making money but want community and readership.

lizmonster said:

I found the "writing like what I'm reading" stage was a developmental phase for me, and I'd argue it was an absolutely essential one. If you're reading something and find yourself picking up similar language rhythms, that means you're tuning into the less tangible aspect of that author's writing. Anybody can learn the rules of grammar; it's poetry that makes you an artist.

That doesn't mean you're doomed to imitate, or that you shouldn't try to shake your way out of it when you're conscious it's happening. But worrying about it will, I think, do nothing but hold you back from developing your own voice. You're not going to be able to write just like someone else, because they are not you - but that doesn't mean flexing your writing muscles in similar ways won't develop your personal set of skills.

Read a lot. Read what you love. Write a lot. It'll all shake out.

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I think you may be right about it being a phase; I'm realizing as I'm reading this that I've mostly stopped mimicking, or certainly don't do it to the degree I used to. But it never really bothered me. On contrary, I left feeling inspired, and no influence was so much that a little tone/voice smoothing later on wouldn't fix.

I also have found that television characters are (still) even more likely to influence how I write my characters (I watched House for a little while and then all of the sudden one character developed a similarly dry, sarcastic wit) but I'm not about to stop watching television.