The jewel in the crown of my experience in earning my MFA lay not in achieving a marked improvement in my writing.
While my MFA thesis went on to be published by a small press, the greatest gift I gave myself in undergoing the rigorous and rugged course of study, was the habit I developed for reading.
Prior to graduating the program, I gave writing greater weight than reading.
Afterwards I came to love reading as much, if not more, than writing, which is to say, I came to love the other side of writing, that of gaining ideas from those who have gone before me. Reading also became my major source of improving my writing.
To sustain a long and fruitful life and livelihood in writing, the writer must learn to fill her or his cup. To endure despite the rigors of crafting enjoyable stories, the writer must experience fun and enjoyment.
Reading on a daily basis replenishes us. If you find that it does not then perhaps the writing life is not your calling. Imagine a Mozart or Bach not loving music, whoever the creator.
Beethoven, though deaf, loved and needed music. Stories crafted by others energize the air we breathe and catalyze our imaginations and enhance our artistry and skill with words.
I now read each day, even if I don’t write. And it is a rare day during which I do not write.
I am lost without a book. The words of others fill and sustain me in ways writing alone never can and will.
The writer who does not read will soon lose her or his ability to write. Reading, writing and thinking go together, says Margaret Walker Alexander.
But to truly write, one must always read. The same cannot be said of the reverse.
To see how reading stimulates our writing, find a poem, any poem, or perhaps read a short, short story.
Write something of your own.
Journal about the experience.
I’d love to hear how it was.