Läsning blev hennes skrivarskola

Anna Schulze, violinist, debuterar med en novellsamling i höst.

Debbie Macomber lärde sig också skriva genom att läsa böcker:

"Shortly after David grew so ill, I shared my dream of writing novels with Wayne, and he encouraged me to pursue this goal. My first step was to rent a typewriter, which I set up on the kitchen table. At mealtimes I shuffled it to the countertop. I vividly remember the first day I rolled a piece of paper into that typewriter. I was a writer! I so wanted to take the stories that were rolling around in my head and place them on paper. At the time I didn't know another writer in the world. Then I stared at that blank piece of paper, and nothing happened. How long I sat and stared at the blank page I can't tell you, but I can describe what was going on inside me. I panicked. I hadn't a clue how to write. While in school I'd never gotten good grades in English (or any other subject for that matter). I was terrified. What made me think I could possibly sell a book? What made me think anyone would pay hard-earned cash to buy anything that I'd written? I felt overwhelmed. I didn't even know how to get started.What happened next was quite possibly the wisest thing I could have done. I picked up four romance novels that I loved. I’d read each one countless times, and I never tired of the plot or the characters. I wanted to understand what in those stories drew me back again and again, what made me love those books so much. This was vital to me in order to put it into any story I created.I dissected those books. I broke them down chapter by chapter, scene by scene, sentence by sentence. In the process I learned about plotting and pacing, chapter openings and chapter endings. As I made copious notes, I came to understand the methods of revealing characterization and the importance of timing in storytelling.Once I'd completed my analysis, I was confident enough to begin my own novel. That was almost twenty-six years ago, and I still give this advice to beginning writers. Dissect the books you love, study and read, but far more importantly, write. A writer writes.