Reading all genres of literature can make you a better writer, or so it has been said. Every writing workshop I've ever attended asks, at some point, if the participants read, how often and what.

I've found that reading influences the way you process language, learn new words, study character and plot and are led into a prescribed structure. Read The History of Love by Nicole Kraus and you'll see what I mean by structure. Readers know when a character isn't fully developed or a theme isn't completely thought out because our own minds speak to us when we read.

I found that studying other authors adds to my repertoire of how I write my own books. Every time I find an author who puts characters, chapters, voices or scenes into a different format than I'm used to, I am impressed. How many ways can you write a book anyway? The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (one of my favorite authors) was one such book.

The next time you read a book notice when chapters are made and how they begin. Is the book in first person or third and who is narrating it. Did the author write it from the most powerful voice? And I'm anal about first sentences. I have spent hours in a bookstore on many a rainy weekends simply reading first sentences. Surprisingly, not many seduced me to read further. But the ones that did, knocked my socks off.

Although reading is usually done for enjoyment, studying the mind of the author can be extremely invaluable in learning how to write your own books. And when I find an author I like, I read all of his/her books. By reading as many books as I can from the same author gives me a great view into the author's mind.

Some minds are scary to sit in the middle of but when I read Elizabeth Berg and Paulo Coehlo, I am so pleased to be there.

What are your thoughts on this subject?