What You Read Stays in Your Head and Makes You A Better Writer

by Adesinmi Olatoyese



If you want to learn new vocab words, the conventional idea is to stalk the dictionary, right? Or maybe go online and find a list of relative words that are of moderate difficulty, or maybe use a software. If you've tried any of those, there are chances you end up forgetting those words, which is a result of one thing: context.

But when you read a material (book, journal, etc) and come across a new word, there are chances that while you may not know the exact meaning of the word, you have, even if fairly, an idea of what it means. And that's because of context. This way words tend to stick to your head, and that's a step towards improved writing.

Again, if you've ever been marveled by the level of intelligence reflected in some author's work and wish to write as adroitly as they do, I bet it is a result of the residual knowledge from the books they have read in the time past. And to be like them, read. Read. The legendary Stephen King has this to say:

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

What you read stays in your subconscious and when you write, your brain will start recalling those ideas. It reflects in your writing making you appear as though you're well informed in the topic of discourse. Dr. Seuss once said…

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

…and true are his words

So if you want to be that intelligent writer every newbie writer wants to be like, why not pick up a book now?

More to this, have you ever experienced how easy it is to write about what you know than it is writing a piece that is about ninety percent reliant on research? Even if your piece needs a study or survey or research to reinforce your points, there'll be an easy flow of ideas and organised thoughts observable in your work.

In conclusion

Whether you want to be a great essayist, newspaper columnist, great fiction writer or poet, your best bet is to invest as much time into reading.

Try it, your work will never remain the same.

What do you think?
Share your thoughts in the comments.