By Elizabeth Swartz
Go ahead and read 1,000 books. Not just any books, though, read 1,000 books like the one you want to write. Yep, you heard me. Linda Sue Parks recommends that strategy to people who want to write a book.
Why? Well, for one thing you need to know your competition. But even before that, you need to know how it is done well. Even though you are probably stuttering and stammering that you have been reading all your life. Blah, blah, blah.
But you haven’t been reading like a writer all your life. This time you are reading to see how each author developed the characters, paced the plot, described the setting and kept the dialogue realistic.
So, are you reading this week? What have you learned from it that you can use in your own writing?
EasternPennPoints 
I’ve decided to try something different. I’ve turned to some short stories by Isak Dinesen. I’m typically reading middle grade and YA as that’s what I write, but I remember the magic and wonder that reading Dinesen filled me with and I want to mine that a bit.
Reading Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli