One Thing You Can Do in 2012 To Be A Better Writer

As I wrote in my last blog, I'm thinking of New Year's resolutions for writers. A Top Ten List for me, at least, if not for other writers. But a list for me will more than likely speak to other writers since we all share some of the same bad habits.

With that in mind, one of my proposed resolutions for writers is this: Read more books.

I still remember my creative writing professor in college offering up that bit of advice. Recently, I challenged the students in my creative writing group to do the same. Still, I believe for some of us reading is a challenge. We don't read enough. In the last two weeks I've read two books, started a third and halfway through it couldn't force myself to finish it, and now am on to a fourth book. 

In a Writer's Digest article from July, THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF WRITING, not reading books was listed as number six. In the article M.J. Rose, author of The Hypnotist is credited with offering this bit of advice:

Reading is essential for writers. Rose cited a study that said that 23 percent of people in the United States want to be writers. If all of them read 10 books a year, Rose said, “We’d all be doing a lot better.”

So, how much do you read? Would reading more books be a good New Year's resolution for you?