Fiction writers must read fiction.

Wait, let me re-phrase that. Fiction writers who want to be good fiction writers must read fiction. Frequently. Widely. Voraciously. Apart from writing, it’s the best way to improve your abilities as a storyteller, a writer, a wordsmith, a wordweaver. Writing fiction without reading fiction is like exhaling without inhaling, talking without listening. It’s like teaching without knowing your subject. Dispensing wisdom when you haven’t lived.

Tell me what you’re reading. Tell me what you’ve read in the past and still think about today. Tell me about books that seduced you with their delicious, rich imagery. Tell me about the stories you want to swim in.