Writing Role Models – Studying Specific Passages

To improve your writing, read more. That’s the advice I hear. But I think the advice should be a bit more specific, like this:

Read more passages that accomplish exactly what you are trying to accomplish in the passage you’re working on.

It’s not pithy, but I think it’s more accurate. Maybe a cleaner version is:

Read for the sake of modeling.

When I read, I read to learn. Or escape. But when I read for the sake of bettering my writing, reading becomes a form of study. And if I’m studying, I need to choose my textbooks carefully.

I am going to catalog the passages I study from. When I stumble on excellent passages that accomplish specific things that I have struggled with, I will add them here under Writing Role Models. If you can add recommendations, please do!