Can you write without reading?

I don't read a lot. Would I still be able to write something of significance?

the bible

Maybe.

obviously not

There are plenty of writers who aren't big readers, it's nothing special.

Are you saying this is the only book needed to succeed?

If you have something to write about, then yes.

To be honest, it does make me feel inadequate.

Why not?

Reading would help so you have knowledge of how others have done it, but technically no, not required.

It shouldn't. I personally love to read and it has improved my vocabulary quite a bit, but it has made precisely no difference in my writing. I don't read fiction, though. I fucking cannot stand fiction of any sort.

Reading alot helps a ton for sure, and you pick up on tricks other writers use.
The thing that helps is writing and then reading.
You see your inadequacies and you notice things on a more meta level in the books.
you pick up on the themes more, how the author structured the book, if they write spontaneously and then fix it or plan it out meticulously.
you will also notice more and more about what sets a shitty writer apart from a good one. I.E. bad writers always include tonnes of fluff and descriptive crap that adds absolutely nothing to the story and has no relevance, in a good piece of writing ever single detail, event, and move is relevant to the plot or is necessary to the scene

This. First read a couple of books on the art of writing, and then read at least read a couple of books from an author that you like and take notes/critique as you read through these, referencing what you've learned from the writing books

Forgot to say, make sure you understand intimately the Hero's Journey (assuming you're writing a novel) even if you veer off that formula for your own writing.

Mohammad pbuh was illiterate yet still wrote the holy Quran. With Allah anything is possible

>bad writers always include tonnes of fluff and descriptive crap that adds absolutely nothing to the story and has no relevance, in a good piece of writing ever single detail, event, and move is relevant to the plot or is necessary to the scene

Any non-idiot would already know this.

To me, the biggest determining factor is whether or not you're a good orator, can you tell a good story and keep a room full of people interested? If you know how to TELL a good story, then you can WRITE a good story.

There was a quote by some famous writer, I can't remember it exactly, but he summed everything up like this: When I told stories to my friends as a kid, they called me a liar. Now, they just call me a writer.

It went something like that, but the point is if you know how to hold a person's interest by speaking, you can hold their interest by writing.

Thank you Baity McBaitman

stupid.
Never expect to do anything special if you don't have a command on the English language.

... Okay?

I think what meant to say is that entertaining people for a few mins represents a small subset of of the skills required to entertain someone for hours (and using a different medium). Also writers are not orators, so there is that.

You're taking a wild guess at what he meant. He said you shouldn't expect to do anything special if you don't have a command of the English language which has nothing to do with anything I said.

And who the fuck is entertained for HOURS? It would take the average person a good 10 hours to read some juvenile horseshit like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the point isn't to be entertained for hours on end, it's to keep your interested. Keeping interest and providing entertainment are two very different things.

Yeah, they're not orators, but if you can't tell a story to save your life, you're PROBABLY not cut out to be a writer.

Very well put my good man. Concise and verbose.

can you look at sentences and words without reading them?

What sort of thing do you plan on writing?

I'd say no you couldn't. Every great literary, philosophic or scientific mind has drawn on other sources that is the intellectual tradition passed down generation to generation.

Just read more. If you want to write fiction read the classic fiction books. If you want to write philosophical stuff read the Greeks then whatever takes your fancy.

sure, ynot, its a chicken and the egg thing.

of course stuff had to be written first.

lots of folks have written great shit with little reading background.

That's exactly what I meant. Being an orator isn't going to make you understand how to use a semi colon correctly. There's a lot of nuance in literature that just doesn't exist in telling a story. You need to be able to have a command of the english language. (not just the spoken part but the written words too!)

>Being an orator isn't going to make you understand how to use a semi colon correctly.

Yeah, you have to learn the technical aspects of writing and how grammar works. Who didn't already know this?

>There's a lot of nuance in literature that just doesn't exist in telling a story.

Not really.

>You need to be able to have a command of the english language

No shit.

>(not just the spoken part but the written words too!)

Your entire point was that you need to know the technicalities of writing such as how grammar and punctuation works. Who was disputing this, again?

Guaranteed trash writing from you.

Whatever you say, professor.

Reading much will improve your vocabulary and make your writing more attractive to people who value style over substance. But if your message is worthy, if you distill it just to truth and speak with earnestness, people will listen anyway.

...

>internet doesn't have words

???????????

the thing is with writing is your always making mistakes that seem like common sense to the reader.
It is very easy to make a mistake and do things that you already have formed a negative opinion on

What do you mean? Seriously, I can't make heads or tails of this post.

what i mean is just because you are aware that doing something is stupid and against common sense doesnt mean that you are aware you are doing it. idk

mainly if you arent occasionally reading other authors works or having your works critiqued, you will never have a baseline of comparison that will illuminate your mistakes