Read to Write

You may heard the saying along these lines:

If you want to be a writer, then write.

The overused cliché in life is when you hear people talking about writing such and such all the time but don't put down a single word on paper or type one on a screen. You won't ever be a writer unless you write. (I'm not talking about those who have finished unpublished work. They did the hard first step. They are writers in my book. There are numerous factors why this happens. But I am not going to address that here.)

While I wholeheartedly agree with this saying above, there's something else you need to do before you become a writer. You must read before you can write. 

As a writer, it's important you become an avid reader. (Audiobooks count too by the way.) This not only stimulates your brain, you can also learn how other writers write. As I mentioned years ago, I learned a lot from June Casagrande's book, as well as Professor Strunk and E.B. White,  William Zinsser, Philip K. Dick, Tolkien, and even the Bible.

It was a privilege to have learned from them and other writers. They helped shape my writing style as a technical writer. And I hope others can learn from me as well. 

Reading is essential to become a writer, including becoming a technical writer. If you want to get into technical writing, you should read technical books or publications themselves to see how they write. (And if there's a industry you want to get into, you should read about it.) When I dove into my first serious foray with API documentation, I read an e-book about this from Zapier to get an understanding. 

You can also read link to it in blog form. Recommend it if you want to get into API writing.

But reading other writers to become one shouldn't simply be about gaining knowledge or emulating someone else's style. When you read like this, it should accomplish two things:

1. See how you could have written it better. (The only big exception is the Bible because that is God's Word. You read that to learn who God is, what God says, and how He wants us to live.)
    
2. Give you the tools needed to create your own style.

While I still appreciate the writers mentioned above, especially the ones that have gone before me, I don't go to them much anymore. I've moved on from them to further hone my craft. But I still love to read. As you go on on your journey as writer, you should be able to do the same.

To be clear, this isn't about one-upmanship. This is about humbly learning from each other. Humility is key to grow as a writer. (I wish I would have learn that from sooner.) If we adopt this mentality, it makes for a much freer, more innovative, and better world. Think about what I'm saying.

Postscript

I will go on to say, if it's possible, you should read more and write less. When I was younger I would have balked at this advice because I was overly eager to become a professional writer. Looking back, I probably would developed my style earlier on if I would have read more. But would it have been style that I have today? Only God knows the answer to that. While this clip in context is about reading more and debating less, I believe there are grains of truth, where we can apply it in our own writing. Even Warren Buffet gives his reason why reading a lot is crucial. He also elaborates on this here. If we read more and wrote less, myself included, I believe there would be far less noise and better, wiser writing out there overall. Hope this helps.