Writers Read Books the way Architects Look at Buildings

I've read many a writer handbook that emphasizes the importance of a writer reading to stoke the craft. It's one of those "R" words. The concept states that by reading, one can comprehend the essence of conflict, character and setting development, improve vocabulary, etc. Additionally, I have read many contemporary and classical writers state that this is not only true, but crucial to the process. Reading liberates the pristine and potential prose locked inside us all. Hearing another voice, another view to compare our own to assists in sorting the jumbled impressions bouncing around our heads. We tune into the voice and hone our skills, our faith, not wanting to be compared to another. We crave to be original of thought and steady of rhythm. The study of sonnets and iambs, the prose of the masters all provide an essential foundation for us to grow onto and into like moss on a rolling stone of inspiration.

Architects view the structural dimentions, facades, materials for not only aesthetic valor, but for the steady innards which allow it to exist, endure throughout time. Writers as creative artists too seek immortality in our words as a skeletal sketch, a woven idea to last and share. We take Bits and Pieces to form a semblance of the whole. This is not parasitic in nature rather a contribution toward progress.

I also read for enjoyment and as an apprentice of the craft. The same goes for the critics and lovers of buildings. They take photos, study the root of inspiration of design, of form which somehow merges with function in a harmonious symphony.

I digress momentarily to address the issue of such famous architectural structures crumbling by the hands of time. Books follow the same, turning into cheese smelling mouse food. Let us assume that the parchment and stone will last for eternity, but be weary of the transformation of this assumption. While I ask to ignore the materials and the base of the atomic materials we use, this does not translate into emulating contemporary trends in fear of being forgotten or unread. An example of this is the bandwagon architectural hiccup in every city in the form of 1970's apartment buildings. They may persist but have been discarded into the abyss of omission.

Strive to be emulated, appreciated as the writers who inspired you. Let creativity spill forth and drink from the puddles of your own and your favorite splashed words.