As readers, when we were young, we first started ruining our enjoyment of books in English Literature class where we would review Macbeth, An Inspector Calls or some other classic book to the end of term and never want to read them again. The same happened to me when I took a Media Studies GCSE during A-Levels and analysed so many Hitchcock films that I still cannot watch them over 30-years later.
But once you begin writing, you will never read the same way again. Suddenly you notice foreshadowing, sentence rhythm, pacing tricks, character arcs, and every time an author uses the word “suddenly.”
At first, it’s annoying. You miss reading purely for pleasure. But soon you realise this analytical lens is training your writing muscles. The more you read, the stronger you grow.
Read widely. Read badly written books (or what you think are badly written books, after reading them), they teach you what not to do. Read brilliant ones, they inspire you to level up.
You’re not ruining reading. You’re deepening it.
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