I only really realised a lot of writers aren't avid readers through steemit, I was amazed by how well people could write without ever having read much. As a writer, i really enjoy it being someone else who tells me the story, akin to someone who works in a cafe having dinner cooked for them. I get to enjoy the end result without worrying about the steps that got it there, whilst also being able to appreciate the subtle flavours and art behind it.

For me, I love reading and learn so much from so many authors. In a way, reading feels like immersive study at the feet of the masters and I can see how various different series/books helped improve my writing. I don't really notice the techniques when reading, it more sinks into my subconscious and shapes my voice in future stories. In a way, its the same as when you spend time with a group of people with a regional accent, and how you speak shifts slightly. I tend to go through a phase of consuming a lot of books by one author, I enjoy each story on it's own, but I enjoy an authors style and approach to story telling. I sink into their style, until it becomes a familiar voice, from there it begins to shape how I write, shifting my tone slightly. I don't even realise I am doing it until I reflect back. I can see how my story telling has grown throughout my life, remoulded by the authors I had been reading. I suspect this is in some form true for most people who write and read, the tone of the things they read the most shapes the tone of their own writing, I do sometimes feel like I see it in others.

There are occasions when individual books have taught me a lot of techniques. They tend to be more short stories, whereas longer stories I get more caught up in and stop noticing the techniques behind the writing. I really enjoy reading very different styles, and can safely say I wouldn't be the writer I am now if it wasn't for them. I could list books and series, and what I gained from each of them, but that is probably overkill.

One thing I have unarguably gained from reading, is words. So so many words I didn't know before.

Movies, however, are a whole other story. Writing more regularly has drastically changed how I watch movies. I suppose things stand out more when you see then as opposed to picture them, and I can change things mentally when reading without even noticing, whereas watching something, that isn't possible. If a movie is well written, shot, and acted (which my word is a rare thing these days) I just watch it. If a movie is poorly written, I notice it instantly, plot holes, poor dialogue, all that, but I find I learn so much from that. Bad movies have helped me write some stories I have really enjoyed. Plot devices tend to piss me a off a little, characters who have a purpose as opposed to character depth. Might make some enemies now... so... i used to love all the aliens movies. But in recent rewatchings, the second one has gone down for me. Because it is well written, and well everything else, the usage of the little girl as plot propulsion, and the overly emotional set up with Ripley and the daughter she is trying to get back to feels lazy. If i watch an awesome movie, and they take an easy/lazy way out, it jars with me far more. It isn't that I could have done better, half the time it's that i couldn't. I remember rewatching Aliens and thinking, yeah, i would have wanted an emotional element here to get the audience to invest emotional in these characters, and in order to do that and not have to waste screen time on backstory, they use this girl, it's a cheap easy instant emotional connection, that appeals on a base human level. We have our character we are attached to trying to get back to her daughter, lets throw a little girl in, put her in plenty of mortal danger and wham bam thank you mam mums are crying in the cinema as Ripley tries to save this girl who is the symbolic representation of her own daughter. Can you see how annoying I might be to watch movies with now hahaha. (although i still learn a lot from movies, and generally find I enjoy bad movies a whole lot more for it, i suddenly transform from watcher to learner, trying to figure out whats wrong with the dialogue, why i don't care about this character, why does this plot point feel hollow etc etc)

So there we have it. Reading makes me a better writer, I get more from books, and notice more in stories, I can appreciate them for all they are, as the story, and as the work of art, but movies, that's where it gets me.

and you got an essay haha sorry about that! It was a fun thing to consider <3