The saying, ‘those who read often, write well’ is often written off as an exaggeration without any careful consideration paid to how such a thing might work. I used to think it was about imitation. If you read a lot you start to develop an understanding of the rhythms and language of successful writing. This is still true, but it isn’t the whole story.
For me, creative writing is often a reaction to something I’ve been through, drawing on the experience and also on the many many stories I have read over the years. Tonight I sat down on the living room floor only to find a bug crawling on my arm. I killed it and moments later came up with this line: Douglas didn’t want to think about the bug clinging to the hem of Sara’s skirt, but he could think of nothing else. The line draws on my experience and a handful of stories I’ve read discussing the often awkward interactions between men and women. In the proposed scenario Douglas is eventually caught staring, which leads to an awkward moment about what she thought he was doing, and finally winds back to the bug itself.
My scenario is a simple one that could have come wholly from creative interpretation of the one experience, but I find more and more that most of the writing I do is influenced by the reading I do. Thus as I read more fiction of all quality levels, I get a stronger sense of my voice, where I fit in the spectrum, and what I like to write. Conversely, without books to fuel me, my creative tank runs dry and I struggle for even the basic blog.