“Reading usually precedes writing. And the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.”

—  Susan Sontag

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Susan Sontag168
American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist 1933–2004

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“It is a general observation that people write as they read. As a rule, careful writers are careful readers and vice versa. A careful writer wants to be read carefully. He cannot know what it means to be read carefully but by having done careful reading himself. Reading precedes writing. We read before we write. We learn to write by reading. A man learns to write well by reading well good books, by reading most carefully books which are most carefully written.”

Leo Strauss book Persecution and the Art of Writing

Source: Persecution and the Art of Writing (1952), How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise, p. 144

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“In this world you either read or write, and writers write out of contempt for their colleagues, out of a desire to have something good to read once in a while.”

Umberto Eco book The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004)

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“If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write.”

Epictetus (50–138) philosopher from Ancient Greece

Book II, ch. 18.
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“Read history. That’s it. Read history. Read and read and read in both primary and secondary sources. Learn to evaluate and compare. And then… write. Writing will be the hardest thing you ever do. But it’s the goal— write about the past and how we see it.”

Christian Desaix

Source: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-become-historian-without-studying-history-in-University

“The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from.”

Gene Fowler (1890–1960) American journalist

Attributed without citation in Blythe Camenson (2002) How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book. p. 188

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“… she felt about reading what some writers felt about writing: that it was impossible not to do it and that at this late stage of her life she had been chosen to read as others were chosen to write.”

Alan Bennett book The Uncommon Reader

Source: The Uncommon Reader

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“Read. Read 1000 pages for every 1 page that you write.”

Sherman Alexie (1966) Native American author and filmmaker

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“I am a recluse at present & do nothing but write & read & read & write”

Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand author

Source: The Collected Letters of Katherine Mansfield: Volume 1: 1903-1917

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“Easy writing makes hard reading.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

As quoted in Paris Was Our Mistress (1947) by Samuel Putnam, p. 128

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“A script is only the beginning of the process. But with books, what you write is exactly what people read. So as a writer, that's very satisfying.”

D.J. MacHale (1955) American television director and producer

Source: AME with D.J. MacHale https://www.reddit.com/r/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark/comments/l875no/ame_with_dj_machale/ (January 29, 2021)

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