Writing and Reading

I have mentioned before that I have trouble getting books in English here in Korea. I have found a set of books that are not expensive but are of the classic authors of the past for the most part. They are written both in Korean and English. The books are complete and that was a concern or they seem to be. They are bound in quality paperback and have a nice feel to them.

The reason I am bringing this up is a gem of a book that I picked up in this series, "The Summing Up", by W. Somerset Maugham. Forget all books about creative writing and get this one. I have never heard of it but it is by far the best I have ever read and is full of helpful advice and clear writing that when I read it I swoon in admiration of this author and wish I read this particular book years ago.

To be honest, I have read all of his novels and most of his short stories through the years. Then I learned that he taught himself to write by reading authors that wrote the way he thought he wanted to write. He wrote this book in 1938. He is clear in what he expects from his authors. He expects three qualities in the order of importance: lucidity, simplicity and euphony. I had to look up the definition of euphony which is agreeableness of sound, pleasing to the ear. I sometimes read authors out loud but never thought of their agreeableness of sound as important. Still, two authors he admired were Voltaire and Colette who are favorites of mine especially Colette.

I joined a writers' group once and was surprised at the number of writers who never read at all. They were writers who were not published or were self-published. I did not stay with this group for very long because they could not get the membership list straightened out and I never got a newsletter although I paid my dues.

Every writer I knew that was published both personally and through their work had one thing in common. They all read. What Maugham said about teaching himself how to write was something I already knew. You find writers that you like and admire and you read everything they write and imitate how they do it and then make the best things they do your own.

You would think such simple advice would be just that, too simple; but at that writers' club it was advice most of the writers there that I met did not take. Some of the writers even gave talks to libraries and they were proud of the fact that they did not read. I remember sitting there during those meetings and talks shaking my head and wondering if I had just landed on some strange planet.

I have to read. I also have to write and I often have a hard time distinguishing between the two of these activities as they seem to blend and accentuate each other. It is clear that Maugham had that desire and love as well.