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READING
WRITING RESEARCH
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Which comes first, reading, writing, or research?
Learning to read usually precedes learning to write,
although in primary school the two go hand-in-glove.
Research is a more sophisticated process, learned later
in life. Presumably the readers of this book already
know how to read and write, and most have done what
can be called research. So, where these three activities
intersect, however, may be the pertinent question.
Here’s a theater analogy: Reading sets the stage. Research provides the cast. And writing is the
performance. If this seems strained, it is not – just think about it. Without good reading habits,
research will be superficial at best. Research results in the information, data, anecdotes–the content–
that writers must have to tell a story. Without something to say, there is nothing to write about.
So, these three activities are integral parts of our play–and yet they are also self-sufficient.
One can read and not write. One can write and not research. But the end product will be doubtless
lacking. This may sound obvious, even sophomoric, but whatever the analogy, it is essential that if one
wants to be a writer, the joy of reading and the skill of research must be harmoniously practiced. A
good writer will learn from reading and benefit from research, and that’s the truth.
1
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READING
WRITING RESEARCH
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Which comes first, reading, writing, or research?
Learning to read usually precedes learning to write,
although in primary school the two go hand-in-glove.
Research is a more sophisticated process, learned later
in life. Presumably the readers of this book already
know how to read and write, and most have done what
can be called research. So, where these three activities
intersect, however, may be the pertinent question.
Here’s a theater analogy: Reading sets the stage. Research provides the cast. And writing is the
performance. If this seems strained, it is not – just think about it. Without good reading habits,
research will be superficial at best. Research results in the information, data, anecdotes–the content–
that writers must have to tell a story. Without something to say, there is nothing to write about.
So, these three activities are integral parts of our play–and yet they are also self-sufficient.
One can read and not write. One can write and not research. But the end product will be doubtless
lacking. This may sound obvious, even sophomoric, but whatever the analogy, it is essential that if one
wants to be a writer, the joy of reading and the skill of research must be harmoniously practiced. A
good writer will learn from reading and benefit from research, and that’s the truth.
1
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WRITING
start start
FRONT BACK
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Some people, these days, read only Twitter or Facebook
feeds. From this statement you may anticipate a grumpy
lament like the current “reading is dead” canard. But
I am not entirely a grump, and this book is far from
a lament. Nonetheless, my assertion is quantifiable.
Long-form thoughtful reading is down; short-form
speed-reading is up. Still, the good news is that any
form of reading implies literacy. The bad news is that
speed-reading clogs the brain with minutiae and TMI
(too much information).
Reading and writing go hand in glove. Sure, it is possible to
read and never write an essay, article, or book in your life, but
it is impossible to write anything and never read. A philosopher
named Theodore Parker (1820–1860) would have agreed:
“The books that help you most are those which make you think
the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading.”
Another venerated spokesman for reading, John Locke (1632–
1704), noted: “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials
of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”
Some of those old guys stole our best ideas, type master
Frederic Goudy wrote more than a hundred years ago, so we
should listen to what they say.
Certainly, media has transformed, mutated, and multiplied
since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when dinosaurs
such as Locke and Parker roamed the earth, but their notions
about reading are still valid. Reading is, as a copywriter wrote for
Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, was the first for-
mally written history textbook.
reading
The Key to Good Research and Writing
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