As a writer, you are what you read

Many writing tasks, such as authoring e-mails, reports and memos, involve conveying thoughts, requests, instructions and similar information. Completing these assignments is a matter of gathering your material and then relaying it accurately and clearly.

Yet some writing jobs – speeches and newsletter articles, for example – require copy that not only communicates but does so with style, flair and maybe a sprinkling of humor, wit or deep thought tossed in.

But what if you don't consider yourself creative or intellectual? Don't believe it. Most people have a spark of both flickering inside; it's just a matter of stoking it to make it burn more brightly. There are a number of ways that can be accomplished, the first of which is believing you're more creative and capable of deeper thought than you know, and then spending time during the re-writing process to give your copy more punch and depth.

Another method doesn't involve writing, it involves reading. Good readers often make good writers for a number of reasons. Those who read broadly are exposed to a richer range of thought. The diversity of your reading material counts too. By reading others' ideas or opinions, for example, you can see something from a different vantage point. And if you approach reading as a writer – that is, you're searching for insight on how to write more effectively – you'll be exposed to a continuing source of knowledge and information.

There are many more ways in which reading benefits writing, but I think you get the picture. Books, newspapers, magazines, ads, the Sunday funnies. Absorb the written word in all of its forms. What you read doesn't matter as much as the fact that read widely and regularly.