A big temptation for new authors is to immerse yourself in a narrow selection of books, often within the genre you’re writing. You may feel that keeping exclusive focus on your genre will give you the best chance of mastering its conventions and satisfying your readers.
But limiting your reading to a single genre or a few authors can hinder your growth as a writer. Cultivating a wide and varied array of literary influences is essential to developing your own style and crafting stories that click with a broad audience.
Why acquire an expansive list of influences? For one, reading widely exposes you to different storytelling techniques, narrative structures, and character archetypes.
For example, if you’re writing science fiction, reading classic literature or contemporary literary fiction might introduce you to deep character development or unconventional narrative styles that can distinguish your sci fi story from the Big Men With Screwdrivers pack.
And nothing aids world building like researching history. So why not take a shortcut and read historical fiction? It’s more fun than readying dry history texts. Besides, no need to do extra work s0mebody else has done for you.
The point is, the more varied your influences, the more tools you have at your disposal for crafting your own work.
Related: Why New Authors Should Master Genre Conventions Before Breaking Them
And every genre has its share of clichés and overused tropes. While these can be comforting to readers, they can also make your work feel derivative if you use them as crutches. By drawing from a wide spectrum of varied influences, you can avoid the pitfall of rehashing ideas that have been done to death.
Remember: language and style vary widely between genres and authors. Reading a wide selection of works can build your vocabulary and help you develop a trademark writing style. Ray Bradbury advised new writers to read a poem every night to help them learn how to use words. Studying stage plays is one way to punch up your dialogue. Even reading essays can inspire you to experiment with language in ways you might not have considered had you stayed in your genre lane.
Everyone’s a critic, and every critic puts a premium on originality. Counterintuitive as it sounds, original concepts often come from kit bashing disparate influences. When you blend elements from different genres or incorporate ideas from multiple literary traditions, your output is more likely to feel fresh and, for want of a better word, special.
I’m not asking you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. The number one reason why readers of my Soul Cycle say they find it so memorable is that it’s unlike anything else they’ve read.
And staying in lock step within the confines of a single genre can invite creative stagnation. Reading broadly acquaints you with new ideas, styles, and approaches that can keep your writing innovative and exciting. That’s not just good for you, it keeps your readers interested–and eager to see what you’ll come up with next.
As a new author, seeking out wide and varied influences is one of the most important steps you can take to develop your craft. You’ll expand your creative horizons, avoid clichés, and hone your facility with words. That’s a recipe for originality.
So step outside your comfort zone, explore new genres and authors, and watch your writing flourish in ways you never expected.
The deep lore of Tolkien meets the brutal struggle of Glen Cook in the dark fantasy prelude to the acclaimed Soul Cycle.
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I would also add that you should take in other mediums. You never know where an idea might come from, be it a new vaporwave track, a 1950s romance comic, or even an obscure DOS FPS from 1997. You might very well see or discover something no one else has and have your own angle to present on the subject.
Art and inspiration can come from anywhere!
I should add that this was a bit of a controversy a few weeks back when some people were arguing game developers should do more than take in games. Of course their medium is important for the obvious reason that they’re working in it, but to think you won’t get anything out of art from other sectors is a bit baffling. I don’t think this used to be as big a problem before the back half of the 20th century.
Regardless, always pay attention. You never know where inspiration may strike.
Yes, you’re correct. But it’s not like new authors have that problem. In my long experience, it’s the exact opposite.
It’s a generally held belief of mine that artists should have multiple disciplines.
1) It keeps their creative well full so when you exhaust creative energies one discipline, you can move onto another
2) The masters of ages past didn’t stick to one thing, so neither should modern artists
Given enough of a time stretch, any genre or franchise risks the possibility that its newest creators are merely fans of said genre or franchise itself, disconnected from any older source, tradition or idea. And if that happens it spells doom as new content inevitably becomes self-referential to an incestuous degree.
It’s why The Force Awakened sucks. JJ Abrams is a soulless bugman who adores Star Wars but has no love or appreciation for anything greater beyond that. And as a result, he could only make a pale imitation of one of the original movies.
It’s also why I have made it my goal to read the classics of the major genres in fiction and the western canon.
Reading plays to get a sense of how dialog works is a great idea. Seeing them performed is an even better idea, though I will grant it pays to be picky. Theatre is one of the performing arts, so the words on the page are mostly potential until a good company brings them to life. There are limits, of course. A good company can only do so much with a mediocre script, while even good dialog will fall flat in the mouths of actors and actresses without the experience or instincts to bring them to life.