You want to write? Read.
Read. As much as you can, whenever you can, whatever you can, read. Read outside your comfort zone. Read books you know you’re going to dislike. Read books you know you’re going to love. Read books you remember reading and loving five years ago but can’t quite remember all the details of. Read non-fiction and fiction and books on history written from both sides of the inevitable ideological divide. Read books you don’t quite understand, take notes about the books they reference, and read those, too, until things start making sense. Read books aimed at children and adults and men and women and dog lovers and cat lovers and people who really, really care about the history of chess. Learn to read while you walk, while you go to the bathroom, while you brush your teeth, and while you’re riding every known form of public transit. You want to write? Now read.
—From Seanan McGuire’s Borders blog post “Advice for Aspiring Writers”
