Photo by Kelsy Gagnebin on Unsplash
One of the fundamental practices successful storytellers adopt is studying stories. Lots of frameworks and lenses exist for this type of practice, but the point is to read regularly and deeply and make note of your findings.
How do we go from reading to studying stories? Well, the first time we read a story, we read as almost any reader would. We can jot down a note or two each day (nothing onerous) about what we notice. You might write down a favorite passage from your daily reading. We’re simply enjoying the story. For some books, this will be plenty. We put those notes in a safe place so we can return to them as needed. Even if a book isn’t a good fit for us, we’re training our mind to consider what we notice and think like a writer.
Other books we enjoy so much that we grow curious about what makes them tick. We want to revel in the story a bit and try to discover how the writer created what we experienced. For these books, we go a little further: We read them again, more slowly, and analyze them. In future posts, I’ll talk more about different ways to analyze stories, but here’s one way to think about it: When reading for enjoyment, we take some notes and record passages. For books that deserve a second look, we start thinking about why the writer made the choices they did by considering what other options were available and the pros and cons of each route.
Other stories are akin to the stories we want to write, so much so that they become a model for our own stories. Maybe it’s the same subgenre as our story, or it uses the same type of narrative situation. Maybe the protagonist’s journey is fundamentally the same as in the way Pride and Prejudice serves a model for Bridget Jones’s Diary. We read these stories multiple times because we gain something new each time, and we make a map of their terrain. We’re not copying these stories, but using them as mentors. Those writers have charted a course into the same territory we want to explore, and it makes sense to consult the maps they created.
If you’re out of practice and need a way to start reading regularly again, begin with something you know you’ll love rather than a story you think you ought to have read. Try reading five or ten pages everyday no matter what. The number isn’t as important as the consistency.
If you combine reading practice with writing practice and prioritize it, you will be well on your way to thinking like a writer.
This post is part of a 75-day writing challenge and experiment. From September 9 through November 22, I'll be posting daily thoughts on writing, storytelling, and creativity based on recent readings or reflections. While my intention was to keep them very short—250 to 400 words—I've found that this range doesn't give me enough space to cover these topics adequately. I aim to keep them brief enough to be read quickly, but they will typically be longer than 400 words.