How to Read a Book Like a Writer

Like most readers, I read strictly for pleasure. But if I fall in love with a certain writer’s voice or I am trying to learn more about a particular genre, then I read with the twin purpose of pleasure and learning. There is no better way to educate yourself on the art of writing than the actual reading and examining of successful novels.

When I am reading certain books to learn more about the craft of writing, I look for certain things.

Reading Like a Writer

First, if it is a best-seller, I try to tease out all the relevant points that I thought made it a bestseller and why. I may even list them (I love lists). I might ask myself how they revealed things about the main character (MC) that made them sympathetic or made me care about them enough to keep turning the pages. I also look at the flip side as well: what was it about the MC that turned me off to the point that I did not bother even finishing the book.

I may pay extra attention to areas that I consider myself weak in: such as pacing of suspense or handling multiple points of view (POV). Another area that I can tend to struggle in is verb tense. What is the tense employed and how effective is it? What kind of hooks are used? How do they keep the secondary characters secondary and prevent them from stealing the show? How do they pare down description and monologue so that it is seamless and not chunky and bogging down the whole story? How is the dialogue realistic and not stilted?

Most importantly, how did they make their MC evolve from beginning to end and what about the plot? Does it work? Is it enough to move the story forward?

The next time you pick up a book to read, enjoy it by all means, but read it through your eyes as a writer.