Today at my internship two students came up to me to check out a book. They were talking to each other as I was scanning the barcodes and writing down the due dates, but then one of the girls turned to me and asked "Do you read a lot?"
Now, do I read a lot? I thought this was a strange question to ask a girl who volunteers her time to work in a library. But I turned to her and said "Oh, I read a ton." She proceeded to ask me "What kind of reading?" And I thought about it. I explained to her that I'm an English major at TCNJ and how much reading that requires of me, both of literature and of critical pieces. I told her about the reading I like to do on my own time, whether it be fiction, poetry, or even just reading on blogs.
Then her and her friend both asked me "Does reading improve your writing?" I thought this was rather impressive that they were thinking about reading on that level, and I was so glad they asked. I do not know if there is anything that improves your writing more than extensively reading. I truly believe that because I have always been an avid reader, my writing has improved greatly. When you read, you analyze how that writer writes and you familiarize yourself with techniques used in all sorts of writing. Because you become better acquainted with such techniques, you then can more easily implement them in your own writing. People often argue that this modeling discourages true innovation and creativity, but in order to write well, you have to know the tried and true basics of the craft.
These girls turned to their other friends after I told them how important reading is to improving your writing and said "See! And you have never picked up a book in your life." I don't know if I ever expected to see peer pressure in the positive direction. Seeing teens encouraging each other to read was definitely one of the bright spots of my day.
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