WRITING | INSPIRATION | READING

You Want To Be a Nifty Writer, Right? Be the Most Passionate Reader First!

When your mind is starving, how can you write anything? Find out these reasons to make yourself a word-loving gourmet

“As for me, reading is my devoted supporter, transporting me to spaces I haven’t been, ushering me into primeval and millennial friendships, and refining my writing skills to become the most effective author of all time…”— Josh Balerite Acol

In a sense, reading is an assimilation of diverse blended emotions that essentially allows us to evolve intellectually, socially, sentimentally, and spiritually.

Reading for me is the best route to refine your inherent skills to be a good penner.

I have learned that there are two pillars of becoming a GOOD WRITER — READING, and WRITING, (and reading, and reading, and reading more…)

To write something, for sure, you have to have one thing you have known or read about.

As I have guzzled from a co-Ed’s juicy piece,

“…A writer is a reader first. A reader is a curious being at heart.” — Aldric Chen

Let me ask first, what is reading for you?

Could it be just a hobby, a way to pass the boring waiting times, or could it be something to empower your mind?

Regardless of your main reason to be a great writer, here are some luscious delights I’ve harvested, to stimulate your appetite into reading:

1. Reading is a form of enhancement, independence, and strengthening one’s self.

One of my fond memories during childhood is about my father who constantly brought home an array of picture books about superheroes, fairy tale classics for me.

Submerging in those, got me to know that life isn’t always easy. I have to genuinely strive hard for what I want, distinguish between good and evil, and that nobody is exempted from bad things happening. I learned to be resilient.

2. It is traveling through time.

Perhaps what you are reading is from a different era in the distant past. You’ll soon discover how and where inventions came from, or specifically, how writing evolved through the years.

In my case, I have discovered the first recorded author in history was a female poet and a priestess. She bears the name Enheduanna from the northern city of Akkad, located along the stretch of the Persian or Arabian Gulf.

I hope to see yours in the near future, dearest One, when I journey again through reading.

3. For others, it is an escape one hopelessly needs.

When I have to divert myself from feeling sad and hopeless, reading Alice In Wonderland when I was a kid brought me unexplained thrills! What more when I have met Dorothy, and the four witches, in the Wizard of Oz!

Oh! I can’t forget those melancholic moments. How about you? What’s your childhood fantastic reads?

4. It’s like chatting with a friend, expressing yourself, strolling along the beach, enjoying a date with a loved one, or listening to relaxing music.

When you miss a loved one who is a million miles away from you, reading entertains you really.

5. It is living a thousand lives at a time while not living any at all.

I get to live how to be a wealthy, or poor human being, to be an anime, a villain, a hero, a pet like an animal, or even how to be just a thing, a piece of furniture or a house!

In brief, I have learned to be empathetic to anyone and anything that sometimes, I feel pity for insects, like ants or lizards when you accidentally walk on them. I am not kidding, Babe. I.AM.DEADLY.SERIOUS.

6. It is identical to any door.

You never know what you will encounter once you enter it. Who knows, once you go in, a new phase in life awaits, that is, a change may happen within you or in your external circumstances.

7. It is your own self-reflection.

Though I have often felt like my former self, it helps to realize that your past mistakes make you who you are today. This is very empowering.

8. It is a friend affirming you it’s there to support you, which is reassuring.

9. It is home. There is a sense of belonging when you are doing it.

10. Reading is like dreaming.

Sometimes you’re wishing and hoping you’ll never wake up at all to go on reading till you reach the ending of the story.

Once I get to start a very interesting book, I just can’t stop myself whilst I reach the end of it, and then crave for more. Is this the same for you, Dearie?

11. You are allowed to be the producer and stage director of each episode while your mind goes crazy.

There are times when you are given the chance to decide what happens to the next chapter or to the climax and closing. This is so much fun!

12. It retards the onset of mental sluggishness.

Your mind becomes alert and booming, as you prolong the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s, because:

• It regularly strengthens the brain’s connections
• It improves sleep readiness, more so when you are reading from a book
• It provides stress relief
• It has a calming effect on blood pressure and heartbeat
• It relieves depression
• It maintains a longer life expectancy
• It keeps your cognitive skills from declining as you age
• It enhances your vocabulary and comprehension

Likewise, meeting new people, talking to them in a casual way, watching movies or tv programs that can enhance your linguistic skills can be considered as ‘reading’, too.

Of course, the ones I have mentioned are just supplements to becoming a good reader. You still have to exert any effort to actually read an article, books, posts, or scriptures.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t happen nightlong. You have to ignite your passion for reading resources consistently.

So how can you achieve the great benefits of reading well? To read intimately, you must have a pang of hunger or a craving for it.

Do check out this acrostic poem I have penned for you if you really want to be one, Sweetie.

Passionate Reader

Powerful notetaker, psyched, profound Avid follower of prolific authors Super fascinated to learn from the greats Sharpness, clarity — dreamed quality attributes Intensely in love with words Obsessive to outstanding reading time; open to critics Nurture readers with nourishing pieces — LIFE’S GOAL Amorously amiable penner to audience Turned on by tickling posts, tickles triumphantly, too Eager to produce quality scriptures

Rabid to robust vocabulary Enthusiastic educator Aspiring, affectionate listener Determined to be a disciplined writer Emotionally convincing Rivetingly raw, really refined

Reading in our present technological age overwhelms us with information, which most often is useless if we are not selective.

• To read intensely like a writer, you must read gradually, that is, don’t ever dare to do it in haste.

I know you, you’re so excited like me, you want to learn soonest and gobble all that you can.

It is important that you study the writing to understand how the author achieves his desired impact for you to emulate it on your own.

Oops! I don’t mean to say, you copy every word of it! Every one of us learns something by emulating someone.

Another renowned litterateur I look up to, Neil Gaiman says,

“Most of us find our own voices only after we’ve sounded like a lot of other people.” — Neil Gaiman

From the moment we are born, we learned to walk and talk step by step, by imitating our elders. Before long, you can be your own unique self. Believe that you’ll have your own writing flair.

• To read heartily like a writer, you must read purposefully.

Feel it in your heart, you are going to be a nifty writer. Bear in mind the whats, hows, wheres, and whys of the creator.

You need to know how the author is developing the piece.

What are the techniques, skills, or tricks to entice you to react that way?

What keeps you glued on the page up to the last bits and pieces of it?

To accentuate any valuable detail that sets me on fire, I prefer using an Evernote web clipper. You can use a highlighter, bookmarkers, or simply a reading notebook.

I’ve encountered a very good book, by Francine Prose.

Though I am not yet done consuming it, Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, is a must-read for hopefuls like me.

“Ask yourself what sort of information each word — each word choice — is conveying.” — Francine Prose

Prose demonstrates in her book, several samples on how to read closely and critically. Her essay analyzes the outcome of the author’s choices by quoting lengthy passages and analyzing the effects of her quotes.

• To read fiercely like a writer, hold on to the greats.

Keep in mind how your beloved penners, made you fall in love with them — is it through their writing tones?

Is it through their ability to leave you in awe?

Or is it through the simplicity and clarity of their stories that are embellished in your heart and soul forever?

As a renowned literary scholar, David Mikics puts it from his famous book, Slow Reading In A Hurried Age,

“Reading should not be drudgery, and not a mere escape either, but a form of life lived at a higher pitch.” — David Mikics

The act of reading, Mikics argues, has the potential to be much more than a task to accomplish, but rather a way to live life at a higher level.

Walt Whitman also wrote that:

“Reading is not a half-sleep, but in the highest sense, a gymnast’s struggle…not the book so much needs to be the complete thing, but the reader of the book does.” — Walt Whitman

To recap, here are the main points:

Reading is incredibly beneficial not only for your whole well-being, according to research.

This demands us to;

• Regain our ability to read by doing it passionately — slowly, but persistently with a writer’s intent.
• Ingest fully what we have absorbed, by taking down notes and mimicking our writing legends with a personal touch.
• Develop our minds to become excellent writers.

Finally, I will leave you a quote again which I can’t resist from a favored author, George R.R. Martin:

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge.” ― (A Game of Thrones)

As one of the editors of this publication, Readers Hope, me and my co-editors, with our hyperactive founding father of Illumination, Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, wholeheartedly support you to reach your ultimate dream.

We humbly encourage you to keep reading. Write as much as you can. We are keeping our fingers crossed. You are the reason we exist.

Thanks so much! Be safe and well ever.

Dr Mehmet Yildiz Carol Price Britni Pepper Karen Madej Liam Ireland Maria Rattray Dr. Preeti Singh Tree Langdon Agnes Laurens Aldric Chen Dew Langrial Claire Kelly John Cunningham JS Adam Regi Lawson Wallace Noorain Hassan, BMS Geetika Sethi Zen Chan Technology Hits Esther George Kyomi O'Connor The Wordsmith™🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸

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