You Are What You Eat
They say it all the time, “you are what you eat.” I am pretty sure that we have heard this saying as little kids. Most likely the people saying this cliché phrase were concerned about what we ate. I can hear my dad now telling me that I one day will turn into a chicken nugget. But this saying doesn’t only apply to the things we eat and how they effect out body. It also can be attributed what we read and how that effects our minds. In the NYC vs MFA article, it talks about how there has been a set standard of writing put in place. That many of the books we have read have a specific structure that the authors paid to learn. Although now of days we have seen authors who have not paid for this training writing in similar formats. Why is this? Because we retain this information unknowingly and then reproduce it in our own works.
I have done this time and time again with the stories that I write. They have very similar formats to the types of books I read because that is all I know and what I have unconsciously learned along the way.
1,269 responses so far
Very true! I’m not all that familiar with formats of writing, at least I don’t purpose chose to write one way or anything. But I think there’s truth to writing how you read. Without noticing, what you put out is exactly what you absorb.
I agree! When I write, I hear voices of authors in my head rather then remembering what I’ve learned from formal writing courses. In terms of style, I felt that i’ve taken a more narrative approach because I’m more attracted to narrative readings. But I feel that this kinda limits my style of writing to only what I’ve read, and i guess the only way for me to expand my writing style is to read more extensively!