I have a theory. If you want to be a writer, fill your mind\nwith words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not sure of this bit, but I think it really helps to\nread those words. Maybe listening to them can also be helpful: perhaps it\ndoesn\u2019t matter how they get in. Just that they are there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, you also need the silence. The space, free of\nwords. It\u2019s not helpful to have continual signal going in. I find going for\nlong walks (without headphones) helps here. It\u2019s like baking with yeast: you\nadd the words, then you leave them to do their thing. I also think that we have\nto rein in our tendency to let words flood our brains when we perceive, because\nwords can shape our perceptions, and by going straight to words we can miss\nwhat\u2019s actually there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But to write well, and fluently, we must fill our mind with\nwords. To this end, I\u2019ve been guarding my reading time every day. In the midst\nof busy-ness, it seems a luxury to read a book, but think of it the same way\nyou would regular exercise. Can you do without it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to read? In filling my head with words I focus on\nfiction, and I try to grab a balanced diet (although I\u2019m not including genres\nsuch as chick lit or misery lit or crime drama here \u2013 I\u2019m not brave enough to\nventure there). I\u2019ve taken to buying novels from my local charity bookshop, and\nploughing through them. Some are brilliant; some less so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My last three have been:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henderson the Rain King<\/em>, by Saul Bellow <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Russian Debutante\u2019s Handbook<\/em>, by Gary Shteyngart <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vile Bodies<\/em>, by Evelyn Waugh<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a pile of several more candidates that I spotted in the charity shop, so I\u2019m good for now. And I\u2019m hoping that as I sit down to write, the words will come a little more easily, and also that they\u2019ll be slightly better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n