Advice for young writers about reading explained

It seems that a lot of popular writers like to post about advice for young writers. Personally I enjoy reading them but sometimes they get a bit repetitive. I see a lot of lists of things and one off sentences about what one should do but that doesn't really help me much. I understand the want to post about it because a popular writer must get many emails requesting the so said information.
"How do I become successful like you?" is a simple enough question and a couple of years ago I'm pretty sure I asked it myself...a few times. The thing is, the answer itself isn't as simple.

This post today however is about one line of advice I see on countless blogs and only just now have I understood why.
"A writer should read, read, read and read again. Never stop reading."
Great advice, now tell me why.
"Because you'll get a good grasp on the story world."
Mmmm, thanks for that advice. I really feel like I've learnt a lot.

Time and time again it's there in the blogs so I thought today, now that i've finally worked out what this means, I'll explain it to the rest of us beginner writers.

The story behind reading is because to be a writer you must be able to read. As a reader you know what works for you. The way you might finish a book and marvel at the way it flowed so nicely, or the word usage that worked really well, or the plot that was painted so lively, or the characters felt so real. This is where the writer in you comes out. Now you know what worked and what you liked (so quite possibly what you're going to like writing) and you can get a better grasp on writing it.

If you are writing a book you might hit that "wall" and wonder how on earth can I explain this! Have no fear, reading will help get you there! There is 200 pages of description and imagination, open it up and have a read, have a break and get back to writing. You'll have a much better idea of how to explain something if you are reading at the same time because you'll know how it needs to come across for you to be able to imagine it.

Reading also helps your vocabulary. You learn new words all the time. As a writer you must resist the temptation to skip over those long scary and unknown words and whip out a dictionary/phone and search it. The writer used it for a reason, figure out why. Be a detective.

So, there is a reason to read, read, read. I hope that helped. It certainly took me a while but I finally understand why.