Reading Like a Writer

In some weird timing the other day, I ran across Chuck Wendig’s post How to Read Like a Writer. (If you have not read his blog before, and are sensitive to language, beware.)

Weird timing because I saw it about a day after thinking I need to do more of that.

I still read very much like a reader. Even when I’m critiquing something, I have to stop and pull myself out of it and force myself to think about why it is or isn’t working for me. I haven’t taken a literature class since high school–not that the sort of analysis then would be any use to me as a writer.

What I decided was that as I read, I should think about why the author made the choices they made about the world, the plot, the characters, the structure, and so on.

Wendig has a lot more to say about the subject than I do (nice of him to save me the time). Once I pass Reading Like a Writer 101, I’ll take another look at what he’s written.

Do you consciously read like a writer or has it become a habit?