I often have people ask if I read. I couldn’t imagine not reading. I’ve read most of my life and before I was able to read, I pestered other people to read to me. Sadly no one wanted to read to me all day, every day. Which is probably part of the reason I learned to read so young.

Other writers ask if I’m worried I might begin to imitate other authors if I read their work. There’s an easy solution to that. Read more books choosing a variety of authors. The perfect excuse to read more. But seriously, as an author you eventually develop your own style. It will change and evolve over the years, but there will always be something distinctly unique about it. Something that makes your style different to that of other authors.

As an author, reading is important, not only for enjoyment, but to continually learn and improve. So much can be gained from reading good books. For anyone who is interested in writing, you can learn many writing techniques by looking at how an author has written a novel. Seeing the different techniques in use. But best of all, it’s a fun pastime.