Before I started writing seriously, I read seriously. I read the paper every morning. I read magazines during my lunch break. I read at least one novel a month (I would have read more books, but the beneficent Mr. Hall is not so beneficent when the light is on and he wants to go to sleep). I even keep a journal of every book I’ve read.

A few months ago, I finally got around to finishing the book on my nightstand. But when I went to write down said book in my journal, I shrieked (or would have if the beneficent Mr. Hall hadn’t been snoring away). It had been months since I’d last read a good book.

That won’t do at all, grasshopper. To write well, one must read well-written works. There is much to be learned from the Fame and Fortune of others. So read, read, read. Write, too. But don’t let your reading take a backseat. Or how else will you recognize great literature when you see it, especially if you’re the one hoping to write it?