DECONSTRUCT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS

Read like a writer to apply the lessons to your own work.

- BY JANE K. CLELAND

READ LIKE A WRITER

A common writing tip is to read a lot. For most authors, this is like telling a cat to suck it up and have another bowl of cream. Reading for pleasure is, to most of us, a joy. Reading like an author, though, requires diligent analysis and is, like all aspects of writing, work. Hopefully enjoyable work, but work nonetheless. Specifically, assessing why stories you love are effective requires critical thinking, the central component of analysis.

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU ADMIRE

When you read a book you wish you'd written, start the deconstruction process by identifying those elements you admire—what elements work? A second read-through allows you to analyze how the author did it. The goal isn’t to replicate their work, of course; it’s to adapt the techniques to your own projects so you can write stories that shine with originality. You might be struck by point of view, pace, structure, the seamless sharing of backstory, how to reveal character through dialogue, or some other characteristic you want to better understand. Regardless of the element you admire, deconstruction allows you to move beyond the what to reach the how.

CONSIDER POINT OF VIEW

Let’s say, for example, you admire the multiple points of view found in Robert B. Parker's Night Passage. Go through, chapter by chapter. You'll discover that not only is each chapter told from one character's point of view, but occasionally, there are shifts in POV within chapters. How, you ask yourself, did Parker know which character should deliver which information and when? A close read reveals that the story unfolds chronologically. Whichever character is directing the action (or on the receiving end) provides that chapter's POV.