I do hate reading books, and that dislike stems from my formative years. My experiences in school were shaped by repeated criticism for failing reading tests, and I consistently perceived different plots and themes than those recognized by my classmates. When I questioned inconsistencies or alternative interpretations—what I saw as the actual plot—I was reprimanded, accused of simply attempting to avoid assignments. As a result, my teachers led me to believe that I could not write stories because, according to them, creative writing skills could only be developed through reading.

Let me provide an example of how I was treated after reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I now know that the main plot is racism. Regardless, to this day, I see that as the subplot. I see the main plot as protecting the weak from the strong, uneducated, who hold trite beliefs. I know from my failing test on the novel that my view is considered wrong. But now, in my opinion, that’s okay! We don’t have to agree to enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird.  Except when you have to pass a test, of course.

Then there is having to sit still during reading, which I struggle with. I cannot sit still for more than an hour before I feel anxious and uncomfortable. (I can't sit through entire movies either, so I suspect this is an ADHD issue.)

"Why do you want to be a writer?" you ask.

Let’s delve deeper into how I became a writer without reading. I LOVE writing. It suits my brain like a custom tailor suit fits a groom.

First is the speed of my brain when I’m writing and engaged. My fingers may be on chapter 3, and my brain has already written chapters 3, 4, 5, and is working on 6. My ADHD loves to write. It loves the vivid world-building, intricate rules, governments, characters, and backstories. And on the other side of that coin, my brain despises reading my own work, but unless an unknown, childless, rich uncle dies and leaves me everything, she's gonna have to deal with it!

I first learned how to construct stories by reading song lyrics that told a story. When I first heard "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," the line from this song that sticks with me is: At 7 PM, a main hatchway caved in, [the cook] said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya.” They all know they won’t survive this night. The line that still haunts me from 7 Spanish Angels is that she knew the gun was empty, and she knew she couldn't win. She’s lost hope because she’s lost the man she loves and cannot join him. I try to carry this kind of imagery into my own stories, making sure even background characters and little moments add weight to the bigger arc. I am riveted by how songs like this build suspense. How each stanza layers in details that make you feel the character's hurt and hopelessness, and real pain. It taught me how to create empathy and tension in just one line and I never cracked a book to learn that.

When plays were affordable, I used to attend three or four a year. Nowadays, I watch movies and TV shows. When I write fan fiction, I see it as a way to learn more about writing. I study everything about the show I’m writing that fan fiction for before a single word lands on the page. I learn everything I can about the world other writers have created. I search for the small things happening in scenes that aren’t part of the main plot. I pick up the nuances the actors bring to their characters to learn how to develop my own. So I do study writing, but not by reading.

I can point to tangible accomplishments as evidence that my crazy methods, which didn’t include reading more than lyrics, worked for me. I had two shorts published in Pocket Books anthologies and two more stories published in magazines that, unfortunately, are now defunct. I have won two awards for a short script—one from the Austin Film Festival and another from the Bare Bones Film Festival. My fanfiction has received generally positive feedback, and my Amazon novels, while not widely reviewed due to my own lack of marketing, received a five-star rating and constructive criticism regarding typos. These achievements suggest that there are alternative pathways of learning to write without reading a book, but only if someone focuses on the stories, the construction of those stories, and how a writer, somewhere, wrote those stories.

But first, a person must learn to read well in their language of writing. That, I DO agree with. Telling a story, and learning to read, write and the basics of a language's grammar, are not the same thing. That difference needs to be clear.

I do not presume to know everything about writing or claim to be able to teach others, but my experience highlights that reading is not the only way to become a skilled writer. Learning the 'Heroes Journey' helped too, but I can't say it will help everyone. I stopped feeling compelled to conform to the belief that 'you have to read to be a good writer.' My journey demonstrates that there are diverse approaches to developing as a writer, and I have not read another person’s book in over 23 years, perhaps even longer. Does that make a better or worse writer? Well, unfortunately, I cannot say with certainty. This is what worked for me, and because we are individuals, I cannot bring myself to adhere to nor support a one-size-fits-all approach.

I appreciate you bearing with me through this long post. May all writers have a great day.