# The Need to Read

source: https://ift.tt/Ao3cLhZ tags: #literature #insights #writing uid: 202212101844 —

Would that matter? If we replaced reading, would anyone need to be good at writing?

The reason it would matter is that writing is not just a way to convey ideas, but also a way to have them.

Talking about your ideas with other people is a good way to develop them. But even after doing this, you’ll find you still discover new things when you sit down to write. There is a kind of thinking that can only be done by writing.

You can’t think well without writing well, and you can’t write well without reading well. And I mean that last “well” in both senses. You have to be good at reading, and read good things.

People who just want information may find other ways to get it. But people who want to have ideas can’t afford to.

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