Learn to Write Better in the Most Economical of Ways

The Benefits of Close Reading

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In her book Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose details how “we all begin as close readers. Even before we learn to read, the process of being read aloud to, and of listening, is one which we are taking in one word after another.” It seems I have been close reading since before learning to read and my book report on Moby Dick and other classics. I just did not know the term.

When I read about the process of close reading, it sounded like an easter egg hunt only with words, and instead of a big backyard, a book. Within the pages of the book, the reader combs through words, sentences, and phrases to see how the author implemented the craft in that story.

When I was listening to lesson two of Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass, he admitted that he was reading wrong when he went to his first writer’s workshop. He explained he was reading like a reader, while the other writers were reading as writers for the craft.

I find nothing wrong with reading as a reader. Reading will always be my first love and source of comfort. However, for analyzing a piece of work, close reading is useful.

In her book Prose explains how she close reads: “I read closely, word by word, sentence by sentence, pondering each deceptively minor decision the writer had made.” She describes close reading as the inspection of each word, phrase, sentence, and interrogation of how they move the story forward.

I see words in a published book as the ultimate survivors, who fought edit after edit to be in those pages. When I close read a piece of work I admire, I want to validate the purpose of the words on the page. I want to get inside the writer’s head and know her method.

Trim the Fat Inside the Sentences

Close reading can give a writer an example of a polished sentence that has seen many rounds of edits. Prose explains that a sentence should be “clear, economical, sharp.” In other words, with zero unnecessary elements.

Nonetheless, close reading gives a writer so much more than an example of superb sentences. Prose also shared an anecdote when she was having difficulty conveying a violent scene in one of her works in progress at the time. For help, she turned to Babel’s fiction, which provided an artful and believable way of depicting such scenes. She used the book as a guide to help her craft her own violent scene.

I don’t Quibi books

I understand we are pressed for time and are becoming more or less a Quibi society. However, I make time to read. Well-written books have become my go-to mentors, and I visit them for examples, inspiration, and lessons. They give me immediate access to the craft.

To me, writing is a profession of continuous learning. I know of nurses and physicians assistants whom to maintain their license must gain continuous learning hours. Much the same way the writer stays sharp by collecting close reading hours.

As the nurses and physicians assistants, I know, how you earn those hours depends on you and your lifestyle. Some writers read every day, others before they start their next project. Each does it differently.

How I do it

When I read a fiction book, I read it first for pleasure and escapism. I pour over the pages and finish it fairly quickly. If I see something unique in the writing style, I highlight it, but for the most part I do not do that because I am immersed in the story. Once I am done, I go back to specific scenes in the book that has an element of the craft, that I am struggling with or would like to learn more. I write in the margins notes to myself and highlight specific aspects on the execution of that craft element. These notes I go back to when I encounter this in my writing.

Examples

I have a hard time writing gestures that are not cliché to convey what the character is thinking or feeling. In Kindred and the character Carrie, I found several examples to show me how to use hand gestures in place of dialogue and how to use them to make up for what is not being said.

I admire the minimalistic yet effective descriptions in the Last Night in Montreal. Since my last class, I have highlighted and underlined that book, a lot. When it comes to descriptions, I turn to it to help me translate the emotions of the character in the setting.

Close reading does more than dissect and analyze the author’s word choice to learn the craft. It provides “inspiration and technical assistant” to the writer, reading.

Lessons from Writing Craft Books

However, all my lessons do not come from fiction books; I’ve learned and continue to learn much from writing craft books. When I read them, I read them slowly. Very slow, and if they have exercises, I practice them. I pretend the author is my personal hologram teacher, sharing with me her wisdom, like Yoda teaching Luke.

I read craft books at night because I am a morning writer. I like to absorb the knowledge, let it marinate in my mind, and exorcise it first thing the next day.

In the End

I find close reading to be one of the factors in my continuous growth in the study of words and writing.