That title is a bit illogical; those who can’t read would not turn to a blog post to learn how. By ‘how to read’ I mean something more along the lines of ‘how to appreciate what you read.’
Ever notice how familiarity brings an added dimension of appreciation? Let me explain. Those who have never played football or studied its finer points watch and appreciate a game at a different level of enjoyment than do those who have played it or otherwise understand its intricacies. If you have played a musical instrument, you listen to music in a different manner from those who have not.
I’m suggesting the same is true of reading. Here I’ll confine the discussion to short stories, my area of familiarity. Those who haven’t written or studied fiction since school will appreciate short stories in a different way from those who know something about the craft.
Understand–I’m not disparaging either level of appreciation. Unfortunately, our lifetimes are limited and you can’t become an expert in everything. There’s nothing wrong with reading fiction for pure enjoyment without understanding its finer nuances. In fact, writers selling to the mass market hope plenty of people do just that.
Even so, you might be a non-writer and still wonder about how writers read. What things do they look for in a short story that non-writers may not be aware of? Non-writers know stories involve characters, and there always seems to be a main character, about whom they come to care as the story progresses. But writers look at the way characters are described and portrayed. Is the description brief yet impactful? Does the character have depth or is that protagonist stereotypical or one-dimensional?
Non-writers understand whether a story is written as if God were telling it (the story makes clear what is in the mind of several characters), or if it only enters one character’s thoughts. Writers use the term ‘point of view’ and form judgments about whether the author selected the right POV for maximum effect.
As various events happen in stories, the non-writer reads along and forms opinions about them. Afterward the non-writer might say she “liked the plot,” meaning it seemed logical and held her interest. A writer examines the same story’s plotline looking for characters reactions to events, and whether each character’s actions spring from motivations aligned with the character’s established traits.
Most non-writers can spot the major conflict in a story, understand how the passage of time occurs (whether in a straight sequence or through the use of flashbacks or gaps), and can feel themselves to be ‘in’ a setting if it’s well-described. Writers are alert for other aspects too, such as tone, symbolism, allusions, and themes.
In the end, both a non-writer and a writer will form an overall judgment about the story they’ve read. Either one might say, “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it,” though their overall assessment is based on integrating different things (and differing numbers of things) they noted as they read. But is the writer’s assessment more correct than that of a non-writer?
No. If every wine expert in the world considers a certain wine terrible, but you (a non-expert) like it, then go ahead–drink it and enjoy. Everyone’s different and entitled to his own opinion. Short stories are meant to be enjoyed by individuals, so judgments about quality can only be made by each person according to his own level of expertise. It’s my fervent hope that you gain some enjoyment reading stories written by…
Poseidon’s Scribe