To Become a Better Writer, You Must Read (and Consume a Fuckton of Media)

It’s no secret that to become a better writer, you must read. And the rest of this post will argue that reading isn’t the only thing you gotta do to become a better writer.

That’s right, kiddies! ::wheels in a TV on a rickety cart like a substitute teacher::

WE’RE WATCHING MOVIES TOO!

But that’s not where we’re stopping.

In order to become a better writer, you must read. And watch shows and movies. And listen to records that give you butterflies in your stomach. And stay up super late at night having philosophical conversations on the back porch with a very good-looking person after you’ve consumed some jazz cabbage.

To become a better writer, you must read. And appreciate good art wherever it is. And pay attention to how people actually talk. And live your damn life.

So, yeah. To be a good writer, you must read. But there will be no point in this post where I argue that you should do anything that an English teacher taught you.

That isn’t to say that we’re throwing out all those teachings.

It is to say that there’s a wide chasm between writing a five-paragraph essay and creating the type of thing people actually want to read.