Storycraft: Why Writers Learn Best by Reading Deeply

Storycraft: Helping you Thrive Through Story - Lessons from Reading Great Writing #1

If you’re new here, I’m a fiction author and travel writer (Lonely Planet, DK Travel etc.) and every week I share insights and tips on writing (on Sundays through Storycraft), on travel writing and building a writing career you love (Tuesdays in Write Your Way Around the World), and on Thursdays I publish on mindful travel in The Green Travel Guide. Welcome!

I’ve always been a reader. From as early as I can remember I have loved books. I have held on to the original copies of the books I loved most as a child, then as a young reader (like the classic story collection ‘A Necklace of Raindrops’ by Joan Aiken or the beautifully illustrated Scandinavian folklore collection ‘East of the Sun & West of the Moon’ by Kay Nielsen).

When I discover a book that I truly love I will read it over and over. And on every re-read I’ll discover something new.

When I was a student at university if I found a new writer whose writing sang to me, I would read everything they had written - novels, plays, letters, poems, short stories - it was the immersive learning of a new language. I believe that writers are made from reading other writers. It’s all one long, layered conversation. And it is simply how you learn to write. In the same way a child learns how to speak by listening.

People often say: “If you want to write, you need to read.” That doesn’t go far enough. What you read matters, and how you read. If you’re skimming books that have little depth or skill to them, sure you might feed an enjoyment of story, but your connection to storytelling will remain surface and superficial.

Real growth comes not from reading dozens and dozens of books alone - but from reading more deeply.

A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken - a childhood favourite collection of stories

Here’s why:

Stories teach structure better than any ‘how to’ writing guide

When you read closely, you start noticing the invisible architecture of storytelling. How does the author move from scene to scene? Where does the tension spike? What’s revealed, and what’s withheld? These lessons stick because you feel them as a reader. We remember and absorb what we feel.

Language seeps into your voice

Deep reading tunes your ear. You catch the rhythm of dialogue, the weight of a single well-placed word, the way prose can stretch or snap. Over time, those cadences reshape your own sentences so that you no longer think about it. You learn the musicality of writing, and you learn what tempo, what style resonates with you and your own writing voice. I love pared back writing (writing that gets out of the way). I also appreciate lyrical, tender writing. If a book is showing-off through the writing, that is less likely to hold my attention. I’m not interested in dazzle. I’m interested in story truth.

Characters become teachers

Paying attention to how characters are drawn - what’s shown in action versus what’s told in description - reveals the craft of creating people who feel real. You don’t just see it; you experience it. And it’s often what characters don’t say, don’t do, that creates the space the reader needs to understand and connect to the character deeply. Watching a truly great writer dance with character on the page, teaches you that not everything needs (nor should it be) spelt out.

You learn what resonates

By reflecting on your own reactions — what thrilled you, what bored you, what confused you — you figure out how story captures your heart. Every “why did that work?” or “why did I lose interest?” becomes a lesson you can apply. You’ll learn how structure and shape can move forward story, can create echoes, can magnify meaning. You begin to spot patterns.

East of the Sun & West of the Moon, by Kay Nielsen

How to Practice Deep Reading

Slow down. Resist the urge to fly through books, skim-reading. Pause to notice choices. Read a passage over a couple of times.

Ask questions. Why did the author place that scene here? Why this word instead of another?

Mark patterns. Highlight recurring images, beats, or phrases. You don’t need to analyse everything, and in fact it’s better to absorb - at first anyway. Remember how a child learns a language. Listen and repeat. Mirror the craft - not the voice, nor the style.

📖 StoryCraft Challenge: This week, pick one short story or novel chapter by an author whose work you love. Read it twice — once for pleasure, once for craft. Write down three techniques you notice. Then, try using them in a piece of your own writing.

Writers don’t just learn by writing. They learn by reading as writers. Every book you open can be both a joy and a masterclass if you know how to listen.

Over the coming weeks I’m going to feature the work of writers that have been important to me - both as a reader and novelist - and I’ll break down the lessons I learned from reading their work. I’ll share resources for you to follow up on each session, so you can build up a toolkit of Writing Resources to help with your own creative writing practice.

What are some of your favourite books, the ones that sparked your own desire to write? Why?

If you’ve found this helpful and want to follow along with this series, sign up for weekly insights into storytelling. And if you’re interested in different storytelling models that go beyond the hero’s journey — a previous post Do We Still Need Heroes? breaks down global storytelling models and how to apply them in your writing.

Until next week,

Laura

Laura McVeigh

Author | Travel Writer | Storyteller

lauramcveigh.com | lauramcveightravel.com | travel-writing.com |

Laura McVeigh is a Northern Irish novelist and travel writer. Her internationally bestselling writing has been widely translated. She has authored books for Lonely Planet, DK Travel, bylines in Irish Times, Irish Independent and her writing has been featured in BBC, Newsweek, New Internationalist and many more. Former CEO of a global writers’ organisation working with writers from 145 countries, Laura is founder of Travel-Writing.Com and Green Travel Guides. She works with writers, founders, and sustainable brands on storytelling. Laura also writes weekly on writing, travel writing and green travel on Substack.