Reliably insightful. Publishers Weekly The first step to becoming a successful writer is to become a successful reader. Helping you develop your critical skills How to Read Like a Writer is an accessible and effective step-by-step guide to how careful reading can help you improve your craft as a creative writer, whatever genre you are writing in. Across 10 lessons each pairing published readings with practical critical and creative exercises this book helps writers master such key elements of their craft as: Genre from fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry to hybrid genres such as graphic narratives and online forms Plot, conflict, theme and image Developing characters physical descriptions, psychological depths and actions Narrators and points of view 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narratives Scenes and settings time, space and place Structure and form length, organization and media Language, subtext and style