Read Like A Writer

Reading like a writer is an essential skill, though warning that doing so can ruin books! Yet. If you want to improve your writing, reading books with an eye to craft is essential.

Identifying story beats, paying attention to pacing, interrogating POV & tense choices, mining good writing for craft--these are just some things you can do to read as a writer.

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[sammijohnson]

I rewrite things in my head while I'm reading if it's a book I'm not engrossed in. It makes reading less enjoyable in some ways but it helps me edit my own work.

[aaronlewis]

‘You’re always gonna think you’re garbage.” Alexa, please try not to be subtle with your thoughts. Some of us need to be slapped in the face with the hard truth. ;)

[igailartzi]

“You’re always gonna think you’re garbage spoiler.”
-Alexa Donne, 2019
I’ve never heard something so relatable as a writer tbh.

[eruvandib.]

I've definitely started noticing story structure and the like more in the stories I read and watch ever since becoming a writer. It hasn't ruined anything for me, though? Like, if the story is really well done, I may think about the technical stuff later (really good memory here, so I won't forget it) and meanwhile I just turn the inner editor off and let myself enjoy it. It's become apparent that that's not something everyone can do, but I'm sure glad I can. :)

[sapphyreviolet]

It feels like this video has a sub-plot with a fluffy tail @ 0:48 & 2:18. Did I miss any?

[Agentmg]

readers subconsciously notice beats. they'll be like, there are only ___ amount of pages left, how are they gonna resolve this?

[heathern.]

I love analyzing stories, and this channel helps me so much with it. I was reading the beginning of The Way of Kings and was so excited when I noticed the author doing the “save the cat” technique!

[andrewjohnston]

I literally cannot read for fun anymore. I read like a writer 24/7.

[kevinchen]

Outline Summary (with timestamps):

1. Learn about story beats: 0:56
2. Track your reading experience: 2:21
3. Analyze the author's choices: 4:15
4. Dig in on "bad" books: 6:03
5. Analyze your faves: 8:08

[scarlet]

I definitely recognize beats in television & films, bc they're super locked into formula due to their time limit. In adult fiction, particularly literary fiction, many books don't follow traditional structure and they sometimes suffer from that. However, in genre fiction I sometimes find the beats manipulative or annoying (e.g., when I recognize a char is being introduced to teach the protagonist and then die, or here's the dark night beat where the protag will whine for a few pages that I'm going to skip, etc.). I caution writers about being heavy-handed with story beats. It's often preferable to simply make a decision in the text without showing your protagonist wringing hands and engaging in histrionics about a choice that should be natural based on his/her characterization. I agree about Kindle being cool bc you can notice what % you get bored. I've noticed at 65% or so I'm often bored, so if an author can keep that 'muddled middle' moving, that's a sign of good writing to me

[TomorrowWeLive]

Great to see how fast your channel's grown. You deserve it!

[passionispower]

This is definitely something I've found myself doing the more I learn about the writing process and you're totally right, it does change the reading experience, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, but there is always something to be learned!

[EmilynWood]

I mapped out the story beats in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie because it is one of my absolute favorite animated film, and I wrote down all the times that those beats took place in the film.
I was so surprised how short some of the most important parts of the movie were.
They made you care about X in the first few minutes of the film, they had so many laughs throughout it, the dark moment is like a punch in the gut and the rise from it is like catharsis.
Part of it is the music, the incredible voice acting and animation, but also the writer things like /script/ were really good.


Sometimes I like mapping out my favorite books, too, because it helps me see everything laid out in a few pages.

[tejaswinisureshkrishnan]

I didn't technically decide to, but I just started reading as a writer somewhere randomly and then I realized that in a book, the pacing was seriously slow and while that usually doesn't bother me, but it did. And so, yes, reading as a writer ruins the reading experience. But it truly shows that you've evolves as a writer ✨️

Also this is such a great video Alexa! Thank you❤️

[tyerannical]

Read as a writer, write like your reading, post pointless gibberish in the comment section. - hopes it rhymed.

[Scybes]

I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video and giving us those resources <3

[moonpetrie]

One thing I pay attention to is tropes, and especially when tropes are subverted. I try to think about how it was done, why the writer chose to do it that way, what their other options were, and what I like about it.

[stephaniehand]

I was actually looking into this last night and couldn't find any good resources. Thanks!

[jessbubbles]

You are not garbage! Loved this video. I always appreciate your time and your tips!

[LinnaAP]

I've been in a writer's block for a while but thinking about how to "fix" books is really helping, at least with having ideas and all.