Reading doesn’t always help your writing. You need to read consciously (called reading actively); taking in the words and structure. And read good authors. So yes, your friend’s blog, probably, doesn’t count.
Slow down - I’m a speed reader. Reading fast means you ignore the text and just digest the story, which is bad if you are learning to write. Try to take in every word separately, and understand the choice of phrasing.
Follow the punctuation – a writer uses punctuation for a reason: to aid structure, and help communication. When reading use the punctuation. Pause when you see a semicolon, read comma-enclosed-clauses differently, etc,.
…it was an engineering professor at the Ecole Polytechnique, Gustave-Gaspard de Coriolis, who worked out the details… [A Short History of Everything; Bill Bryson]
See how ‘Gustave-Gaspard de Coriolis‘ is read with a different tone of voice?
Use a dictionary - get out your dictionary, clean off the dust, and use it when you find an irregular word. I’m the worst at just ignoring words I don’t understand; “Err, must be a type of pie, or something.“
Understand the author’s intention - most important alert. Use the three points above to decipher the author’s objective. Why is this way better than that. Become a bestselling author by knowing why they are better than you.
