R = Reading

 

A to Z Blog Challenge: Day Eighteen

 

READ

 

 

Want to become a better writer? Read!

I take home a new haul of books from the library around every two weeks. I create an ongoing list of books that I want to read and then reserve them through my public library. When I go to pick them up I also browse the new book section and add some of these (okay, a lot of  these) to my bag.  I read each of these books looking for mentor texts and to decide what I like and don't like about them and why. It's a great way to discover new formats for my own stories. Then I decide which stories I want to type up and save in my "book studies" file. Typing them helps me remember them better and embeds them into my brain so hopefully some of those same techniques will work their way into my own stories. It's like when I write a grocery list and even though I forget the list at home, the fact that I wrote it helps me remember it. It's also helpful to go back to this file when I'm looking for mentor texts. I'm at Barnes and Noble once a week, so I try to browse what they have on their shelves that I wasn't able to find at the library.

 

You never stop learning how to become a better writer and reading is one thing that I think whether you're a beginning or a seasoned writer, you must read what you want to write!

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Linda Bozzo has published more than 50 nonfiction books for the school and library market. For more information about Linda and her books, you can visit her website.