Method to Madness: Reading to write

I know some people who have a lot of trouble getting inspired to write, they hit blocks, aren’t happy with their progress and overall just have a hard time keeping their mojo up. One recommendation for people seems like a no brainer, still, people don’t do it. 

If you want to write more, you might want to try reading more. 

In case you’re wondering, I’m not recommending this so people can lift lines from different works and write something new from rehashed ideas. You just need to see Hollywood blockbusters to realize who plagiarizes and who breaks new ground with every new work and that it's really not worth it. 

That little digression aside, I recommend reading because it engages your brain in ways that stimulate your creative side. I also recommend this over a movie for various reasons. Firstly, I said it above, reading engages the mind, it stimulates it, it begs action from the reader to get the story unlike TV or film that asks you to just sit there and watch. Btw, I’m not saying movies don’t inspire… that would be silly to say. What I’m saying is that if you’re having trouble getting inspired, mixing it up with some classic works or different types of literature can be just what your writing ordered. 

By coming into contact with words, by swimming through stories, different information, different twists and just engaging the parts of your brain that read, you’re also stimulating your creativity. For me, it can be that I read something that I love and maybe the style rubs off a bit, though more often than not, it’s just that what I read can actually start a spark that quickly turns into a lovely fire. 

So here’s to burning the midnight oil be it reading or writing.