Read, Write, Reverse, Repeat.

If you want to be a writer, you need to do two things. You need to read and write. And then do it in reverse. And repeat. That’s all. Simple.

In Stephen King’s book, On Writing, he espouses that reading is breathing in, and writing is breathing out. Reading is the intake of oxygen that nourishes the creative output of writing. You cannot be a writer unless you read and write. It is that simple.

That being said, it is important not to read and regurgitate. The reading must be tossed around in your mind, molded, shaped, reformed—and emerge as your individual creation.

And you cannot agonize over every page, every paragraph, every sentence, and every word. You must read to nourish your creativity, and then let it flow in the form it wants to take. There will be time later for tinkering.

Read, Write, Reverse, Repeat.

AND DON’T FORGET! One lucky Maine Crime Writers reader who leaves a comment on the blog this month will win a bundle of books!