Does What You Read Impact What You Write?

What you read will impact what you write in various ways.

Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash

When I started to read daily, I chose a specific time so that I’d be consistent.

Every morning, the first thing I do after I get out of bed, take care of the cats, and get the coffee started, is sit down and read. This can take me 30–60 minutes (I’m usually up at 6 am). I tend to read 1–2 chapters each of fiction and nonfiction.

Via this process, I’m reading at least 50 books a year. But my reading is less about quantity and more about quality.

However — that doesn’t mean I’m only reading “the best”. Besides — how do you define what’s best in the crowded genres of books out there?

For my fiction, I tend to read sci-fi and fantasy. Sometimes I will read something in another fiction genre, or something by Paulo Coelho, John Strelecky, or another hard-to-define fiction writer.

For my nonfiction, I tend to read books about consciousness, conscious reality creation, mindfulness, abundance, manifestation, self-help, philosophy, self-care, and the like. This also sometimes includes science (like physics) and psychology.

I’ve written about this topic before, but I think it’s worth exploring again. No matter — if it’s fiction or…