Comments on: You Are What You Read

By: Mowahid

Mowahid — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:57:34 +0000

So i should imitate Anthony Hopkins then, hmmmm…. Really an interesting thought. But the worst part yet to come is people imitating Rap artists n jargon loving cussing pop and rock stars. So choose well, people.

By: Charnchai Lersbantornkul

Charnchai Lersbantornkul — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:59:48 +0000

I totally agree with “you have to take in before you putout”.

thanks for such a good article

By: Definitely use “the” or “a”

Definitely use “the” or “a” — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:25:54 +0000

[...] rules apply all the time. Some rules apply only in certain situations, and only experience and reading can help you get them all right. And some rules apply only in certain situations in certain [...]

By: rodel claro

rodel claro — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:45:44 +0000

Learning is English is not that easy as you think and feel along the way. . .

My tip is read, read, read English reading materials, then speak, speak, speak in English. Sure enough, your written and spoken English will be polished.

Exert efforts so you will reap the fruits of your labor.

MAKE EXCELLENCE A DAILY HABIT!

Good luck!

By: Christy

Christy — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:26:23 +0000

For the last couple of years, I’ve gone from reading maybe 2-3 books per year to (combined reading/audiobooks) about 4 per month, and have been writing every day/every other day. It’s really interesting to see how my writing has evolved– just from reading my free writes, I can tell if I was reading Chuck Palahniuk or Jodi Picoult or Jeffrey Eugenides. After a while, the books you’ve read, the writing styles or techniques melt together, and instead of parroting other authors, your own voice and style come out.

Reading definitely is huge, and I agree that it has to be GOOD writing that you read. I read one Karen Kingsbury novel once, and during the week or so I was reading it, every time I wrote, I just wanted to slash my wrists off… haha. Books on the process of writing (by John Gardener, Janet Burroway, Stephen King) also help by pointing out the subtle things in writing that you might not pick up just from reading a novel, and they help you to identify why bad writing is bad and what it is that makes good writing, well, good.

Anyway. Yeah. Good article.