READING CHANGES OUR VIEW OF THE PATH TAKEN THROUGHOUT OUR LIFE →
I admire those who can quote favorite thoughts from favorite books, famous people, or scriptures. Even more so, I admire those who can remember most of what they have read. I find myself going back and rereading much of what I have already read, and when I do, it often feels like a whole new experience. Each reading brings something new to us.
Reading is especially important because it provides us with knowledge. C.S. Lewis said, "The good of literature is that we want to become more than ourselves; we want to see with others' eyes, to imagine with others' imaginations, to feel with others's hearts, as well as our own.
What is the Good of Literature →
C.S. Lewis said, “The good of literature is that we want to become more than ourselves; we want to see with others’ eyes, to imagine with others’ imaginations, to feel with others’ hearts, as well as our own.”
He also said we become a thousand men and yet remain ourselves. When it happens, you will feel renewed and reinvented.
Common Reasons People Read
It helps gain valuable knowledge and learn about new things.
It exercises the brain and improves cognitive skills, such as comprehension, memory, and focus.
It provides entertainment and stimulates the imagination.
It improves the ability to empathize and communicate with others.
Reading Overview →
Nationwide, on average, 79% of U.S. adults are literate in 2022. 21% of adults in the US were illiterate in 2022. 54% of adults have literacy below a sixth-grade level. 21% of Americans 18 and older are illiterate in 2022
The average reader will complete 12 books in a year. If the life expectancy is 86 for females and 82 for males, and the proper reading age is 25 years, Literary Hub notes that the average number of books read in a lifetime is 735 for females and 684 for males.
Countries that Read (And Buy) The Most Books
United States The U.S. reads about 275,232 per year. ...
China – The country reads 208,418 books annually, about 10% of all books bought.
United Kingdom – This nation reads about 188,000 every year.
India. The NOP World Culture Score Index* puts India as the nation that enjoys reading the most when considering the time spent among the 30 major countries surveyed. India tops our list, with its residents reading an average of 10 hours and 42 minutes weekly.
What is the US rank in education in the world?
The U.S. ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42%). They have an upper secondary education are just 29% -- one of the lowest levels among OECD countries. Enrolment rate. Sources, while in the U.S., 62% do.
NOP World Culture Score(TM) Index Examines Global Media Habits
Write in the Moment and Connect it to a Bigger Story →
What does saying you are “writing in the moment” mean? Sometimes, it means that what you are writing about is something you can observe happening around you at the very moment you are writing. This makes it easier to capture details like a slow-motion camera’s input gives focus, and the writing is true to life and a reflection of the “here and now.”
In addition to your particular moment, a moment in time for the characters in the plot can be captured.
“In good writing, words become one with things.”
What is happening around you right now involves many things, and a choice as to what to include and not include has to be made. Some events stand out in the moment, and you can sense them, almost breathing them in, and then using the reasons to direct your thoughts at the details, you capture what the moment can be about.
A life story can be a series of chosen references to past moments. As you tell or write the story, you choose the particular moments and interpret them differently than when they happened. Seldom do you hear a person tell their own life story the same way each time they tell it unless they are reading it because, in a different moment, more experiences filter the memories and conclusions?
The conclusions we draw from past events and in those cases where those events strongly influence our self-image, then re-looking at events can change parts or all of our self-image and lead to reinventing our self-image. You can write at the moment when the subject of your story is happening, or you can reach back for specific moments, but those moments change each time you reach back for them.
Fiction brings the reader experiences that they would have never expected to have. Instead, we step into a new reality (both the reader and author can feel they are there in the moment) where all our beliefs can be set aside, and we meet new people who can inspire or terrify us.
Will these fictional characters and experiences influence your self-identity? I think they will. Do they play a role in the narrative of how you see your life story? Again, they do. Does fiction have any redeeming value? Will its influence raise or lower our intelligence? There is plenty of evidence that it increases it.
You can talk to them about various subjects and new ideas, and different perspectives can be found. It sounds like opening a book of fiction.
The first time I read William Faulkner’s fictional story, As I Lay Dying, it took me by surprise. I expected to enter a unique storyline and learn about the people in Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, during the 1920s. Yet the conversation's language, tone, and sound were a surprise. How the characters interacted and spoke to each other differed from anything I expected, and I knew I was in a different place seeing life differently.
Einstein suggested, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
Neil Gaiman is a writer of fantasy and fiction, and in his book The View from the Cheap Seats, he wrote about attending a meeting for fiction writers in China. In previous years, China didn’t allow fairy tales and fiction in their schools, so he was surprised to learn of this invitation. He asked an official what had changed and was told, off the record, that they had toured all the big companies they did outsourcing work for in the United States and asked those they met what they read. The resounding answer was science fiction. The officials then began to understand the connection of invention with creativity. (I guess it took a random event for them to figure this out.)
There are good and bad guys in fiction, fairy tales, and horror stories. For some, the “Force” in Star Wars might represent the goodness in the universe, but what about that goodness? Will it reaffirm our beliefs while seeing our beliefs as an element of a fictional plot; does it make the fiction more believable? The bigger question is, can we really step out of our world, or are we just going always to view things through the lens of our experience?
A Jumpstart to Life Experience can be gained through Reading →
Many book lovers write about their lifelong love of books. I didn’t start my love affair with books until I finished college. I remember a family of one of my Uncles and what seemed to be an absolute devotion to readers when the cousins were growing up. The books I saw in the girl’s rooms during our visits over the years impressed me.
I recall seeing an interview conducted by Prince Harry with President Obama. He asked him many questions, some seeming insignificant. What kind of boxer briefs do you wear? Obama said that was off-limits. Good for him. Who cares? Questions about Royal Weddings were attractive to many. The comments on social media were good ones.
These men have had exciting lives, but they have some insight beyond their path of experience. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what books had been essential and of interest to either Obama or Prince Harry? What books influenced Gandhi, Lincoln, Putin, and maybe my father and their fathers?
The books with the most significant impact on our lives change and evolve, but so do we. Some books may always make our top list. Some new ones have come. So, this year, I had several new ones that will likely stick with me. "American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee and Nothing to Envy, Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick came to mind and impacted me, but many others did.
Recalling what books I read when I was young is challenging. Unfortunately, I only read books with deeper meanings and influence once I was almost out of high school.
One time in my early teens, I recall visiting my uncle’s family on a trip our family took. He had a large family, and the two girls that were the closest to me in age were sharp. Socially, probably ahead of me at the time and perhaps even a little brighter (I can't believe I said that). Walking down the hall in their home, I remember seeing many books in the girls’ rooms. So I asked them to show me what they were reading, and they were books with more profound meaning and influence than I was used to.
This wasn't my life a-ha moment for loving books, but it was an important one, and I did up my own game and added some better books to read.
When I was about 3 or 4, my parents would take turns reading to me at bedtime. They read kid books, probably from the Little Golden Books series. At about eight years old, I started reading funny books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. At about ten years old, I began reading Boy's Life. At around 12, I started reading movie magazines. I read the TV guide, Reader's Digest, Popular Mechanics, and everything around the house.
After about the 9th grade, I became interested in well-known dystopian books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm. By the time I started college, my interest in philosophy had led me to The Republic by Plato, Aristotle and The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, to name a few.
After High School, I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and many self-help books.
When I finished college, I began reading many business books. Robert Ringer's book "Winning Through Intimidation" impacted me. I also started reading church books. I have read the scriptures over and over throughout my life.
I have read Ulysses by James Joyce several times to determine if I could understand it. I have read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and most of what Shakespeare wrote. Moby Dick is a book that I read several times and started out hating, but after the last reading, I saw it as a great book. Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience are books I have read several times.
My love of these books led me to pick the authors that stood out. Edgar Allan Poe, Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Charles Dickens are all authors I like. Hemmingway and Mark Twain are authors I have read but don't care for. I have read great books, such as Faulkner, Nabokov, T.S. Elliot, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and Franz Kafka.
I love the authors but love the poets even more sometimes. Robert Frost is a favorite poet, and a new poet I like and want to hear more from is Amanda Gorman. Her inauguration day poem for President Biden, "The Hill We Climb," is amazing.
Ok, I have some fallback favorites. Stephen King always gets my attention. There are several dozen authors I should have included. (Apology to Maya Angelou, for example) There are lots of modern and exciting authors.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
~ George R.R. Martin.
What to Read Next and Why →
The question of what to read next comes up over and over throughout our lives. Some offer answers but don’t explain why their choices should be of value to us.
A successful fiction and fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman doesn’t hesitate to suggest an answer and offer a why. He said, "Fiction is the gateway drug to reading.” He added that fiction drives us to want to know what happens next. It becomes exciting and satisfies the excitement as we turn the pages.
When we read fiction, it increases our imagination and results in our finding something new of interest. The new things we find may lead us in a direction such as science, history, or art. So we could look for a biography of a person with an area of similar interest to our own.
The path to the next book, or even choosing one to re-read, is often built on past choices. Years ago, I watched the movie “Apocalypse Now.” That led me to reread Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” set in Africa with the same basic plot. The book was considered one of Conrad’s best.
Some criticized Conrad’s book for having a white man’s perspective on life in Africa. I wanted to find another view. I wondered if there were good African writers that I could read. At that point in my life, I had never looked for African writers. I looked and found many good ones who were respected for their work. I found several authors of interest. At the time, Chinua Achebe emerged as a well-known African author for his book “Things Fall Apart.”
It seemed to be the perfect “other point of view” I was looking for. This book is indeed something that should be read by anyone who reads “Heart of Darkness” and wonder if they have seen Africa correctly.
REVIEW OF "THINGS FALL APART, by CHINA ACHEBE
HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD
Why You Should Read Before Think
Wish I had a better list of books to show for my younger years →
Looking back to my childhood to recall what books I read is challenging. First, I don't remember many of them, but then I know I didn't read many books of any importance until my mid-teens. I don't understand why that was because I thought I was a pretty smart kid. I got good grades, and school was just easy for me.
One time in my early teens, I went to Salt Lake on one of their regular trips with my parents. At that time, my Uncle’s family lived in the North Salt Lake area, and we stopped for a visit. He had a large family, and the two girls that were the closest to me in age were sharp girls. Socially, probably ahead of me at the time, and perhaps even a little brighter. I remember as I walked down the hall, seeing in each of their bedrooms that they had books by their beds. The idea that having books to read at that age was good did occur to me from this experience. Nevertheless, I didn't just change my habits and start reading things. I wish I had.
When I was about 3 or 4, my parents would take turns reading to me at bedtime. They read kid books. Probably from the Little Golden Books series. At about eight years old, I started reading funny books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. At about ten years old, I started reading Boy's Life. At around 12, I started reading movie magazines.
I read the TV guide, Reader's Digest, and Popular Mechanics. I suppose I read everything that was around the house.
After about the 9th grade, I became interested in some well-known dystopian books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm. By the time I started college, my interest in philosophy had led me to The Republic by Plato, Aristotle, and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, to name a few. I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and then a lot of self-help books.
When I finished college, I began reading a lot of business books. Robert Ringer's book "Winning Through Intimidation" impacted me. I also started reading church books. I have read the scriptures over and over throughout my life.
I have read Ulysses by James Joyce several times to find out if I could understand it. I have read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and most of what Shakespeare wrote. Moby Dick is a book that I read several times and started out hating, but after the last reading, I saw it as a great book. Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience are books I have read several times.
My love of these books led me to pick the authors that stood out to me. Edgar Allan Poe, Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Charles Dickens are all authors I like. Hemmingway and Mark Twain are authors I have read a lot but don't care for. Faulkner, Nabokov, T.S. Elliot, C.S Lewis, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and Franz Kafka all have many great books I have read.
I love the authors but love the poets even more sometimes. Robert Frost is a favorite poet, and a new poet I like and want to hear more from is Amanda Gorman. Her inauguration day poem for President Biden, "The Hill we Climb," is amazing.
Ok, I have some fallback favorites. Stephen King always gets my attention. This shortlist is top-heavy for what I have read as an adult. There are probably several dozen authors I should have included. (Apology to Maya Angelou, for example) Lots of just modern and exciting authors.
Is The Target Market Always Obvious →
Sometimes the goal you are seeking needs research. Perhaps your writing a book or looking for a job. Reading about those goals will give you direction. You will want to make sure your reading targets your goals.
A target market is the specific group of people that you want to reach with your message. They are the people who are most likely to need to hear your message and buy your products or services.
Their behaviors, demographics, and as much information about them as possible are needed to find these people.
When you write and market a book, you want to provide the answers your potential readers wish to. For several of the books I have written, I found the information needed because I was with those people working one-on-one, observing whether they had the skills and available networks that would fit the goals they were seeking.
When these things are understood, finding strategies and insights coupled with some fundamental analysis of the personal values, skill sets, and networks becomes easier to identify.
Many of my books address those questions because the source for these books was not just a list of questions that came from understanding how the questions were the core of the challenges faced.
I worked one-on-one with hundreds of job seekers and people needing a career change over several years.
These books can be found on my Amazon Author page at https://amzn.to/3NNUhd6.
Is there a point to writing if no one ever reads it? →
About Writing
Writers often ask themselves, “What is the point of writing if no one reads my work? Okay, yes, this sounds like the beginning of a pity party, but it is a valid question. Even so, there are a lot of high-sounding reasons why the answer is that I should indeed continue to write.
What I am looking for, however, is something original that goes to the heart of this question.
One answer, for example, is that the point of writing is to “think deeply and to inform, entertain, and communicate your insight with your readers.” Yes, I found that answer by googling this question, so okay, it still is a starting point for the question.
I can go with “thinking deeply” because just pulling sentences together requires that, and, as far as I can tell, the more we do this, the better we become. However, this benefit’s point isn’t to communicate with readers, since that is the problem. There are no readers!
We can inform and entertain ourselves, but the real problem becomes apparent when readers are required. As I previously said, there aren’t any readers.
Another point for writing is to seek the truth. It doesn't matter how you do that or whether you're writing thrillers, detective stories, comedies, website posts, or picture books for children. When you write, you often must validate what you say, which is a worthy goal for someone who writes. As Stephen Pressfield writes in The War of Art, “We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.”
Writing also forces you to open your eyes to the world to ensure your story makes sense. When you open your eyes to all around you, your ideas find new connections. You can catch up on lost time and gain insight beyond your capabilities by reading more. This opens you to new feelings and experiences. The more you learn about this world, the more you realize how much you don't know. In this way, writing keeps you humble and open to more knowledge.
Author and marketing guru Seth Godin produces blog posts daily, saying, “Even if no one reads your blog, the act of writing it is clarifying, motivating, and (eventually) fun.” He adds that “after people get to posting 200 [posts] or beyond, they uniformly report that they’re glad they did it.” (Taken from Why Writing Content Is Useful, Even If Nobody Reads It - Forbes
Even when no one will likely read it, the real point of writing is that it is clear evidence for you to know that you are a writer. Writers write because they must write.
Did you really mean what you wrote and does the message come through clear? →
Good writing stands out, and you hear a distinct voice when you read it. The agent is just right, meeting the needs of the story. The paper stays within the reader for a while and makes the reader feel richer when reading. Good writing makes the reader want to read more.
The verse below from Ecclesiastes 9:11 was used in the book “Why I Write” by George Orwell as an example of "good writing," Then, Orwell wrote a more modern approach to the verse, saying the same thing the current is not better. Then,
The Ecclesiastes verse stands out as well written compared to what Orwell presented as a more modern approach of that day and was a rewritten version written as a parody of the original verse designed to ridicule the bloated writing of his day. The important message is that simplicity is better and helps if you know what you mean so you can clearly say it.
See Both Verses Below.
Ecclesiastes 9:11, King James Version
“I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
George Orwell’s parody in what he called more modern prose. (not a compliment)
“Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”
The original verse is well written and says what it says so very, very well. Then, on the other hand, is what this verse says correct? Is it true that here on earth, under the sun, the efforts of men are dependent on chance and time for those efforts to make a difference? Is it logical to draw any conclusions from “objective conclusions about contemporary phenomena”? Are not those conclusions and phenomena aggregates of experience, and do they even exist in singular form?
Many whose "stars shine bright" and who have the limelight are no better or wiser than many who do not. Some luck and timing make a lot of difference. On the other hand, so many define their journey through life as part of a "plan.” Trials are part of the plan. Setbacks are thought of as part of the plan. So what about time and chance? Does the fact that the original verse suggests that everyone will get time and chance make it all ok?
Did the writer of Ecclesiastes successfully communicate what was meant? Does it mean the writer failed if it is interpreted differently by different readers?
Quotes from Authors about the Meaning of their Writing
“I didn't fail the test; I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” -Benjamin Franklin, 1706 -1790. Based on the quote by Franklin, I would suspect that he would come down on the side of "a plan" rather than feeling that time and chance rendered the 100 failures of no worth.
“In the depths of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer." -Albert Camus, 1913 – 1957. It looks like Camus figured there was a plan since his challenges were labeled "depths of winter," which seemed to prove something of worth to him.
The difficulty of literature is not writing but writing what you mean."
-Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894.
Good Writing Doesn't Just Happen: Don't just file it in a notebook →
If you consider yourself a good writer or just a writer wannabe, you probably have a place to save your good ideas of started but not finished work. Notebooks serve this purpose, or perhaps folders and files on your computer.
Stephen King says good ideas don't have to go in a notebook. You can use your good ideas to get started, but if that doesn't lead you to where those good ideas can help, just put them away and revisit them later. The good stuff will stay with you.
This seems like good advice, but we still face the question of what to do if the good ideas don’t lead somewhere; where do you store them? My vote is still for a notebook.
King’s advice fits well with his other writing advice about ensuring the good stuff makes it to publication. He said that even as an established writer, he depends on a good editor and listens closely to them so he won’t hang himself in times square, figuratively. He also added it was Hemmingway that said you have to be ready to kill your darlings. He said he is cautious and tries to limit it to a few of them. Good writing advice is great to read.
Why use rhetorical questions: Really why? →
A rhetorical question is asked to make a statement rather than to get an answer. These questions are often used in persuasive writing because they provide the reader a moment to pause and think about the question. For that reason, they effectively hook a reader's interest and make them think about their response to the question.
A rhetorical question is a question someone asks without expecting an answer. The question might not have a response, or it might have an obvious answer. Sometimes these questions are asked solely to make a particular point.
Sometimes the answer is obvious, and asking it will make that answer stand out. A rhetorical question is sometimes asked just for effect with no answer expected. Examples of this would be: "How could I be so stupid? or, even better, are you out of your mind?
Repetition is a standard rhetorical device relating to or concerned with the art of rhetoric.
A question someone asks without expecting an answer or to make a point will make it stand out. The question can serve as a tool and cause the audience to think about the question, even briefly, and come up with their answer or opinion. When this happens, the listener becomes an active participant in the speakers’ attempt to communicate, and the good news is that they will do it of their own volition.
When your listener or audience personally connects with the issues, facts, and events, they often become more emotionally invested in the story.
Why Stephen King is referred to as a polymorphous writer →
King’s books are marketed as literary fiction, and for the past four decades, no single writer has dominated the landscape of genre writing like him. Even with his success, the respect of the literary establishment has always eluded King, and mainly from the beginning, King was dismissed as a 'genre writer.’ But really, is he polymorphous?
A review on the website “RevYou” said about King: “However, King wasn’t just a horror writer that one could easily dismiss if they are not interested in the genre. Besides the fact that Stephen king managed to add depth to his novels and other tones of psychological terror, he is polymorphous.” Adding. “Besides horror, he explored other genres such as science, historical fiction, fantasy novels, science fiction, and more.”
A look at the titles and genre of the books King has written confirms that his writing is indeed that of a polymorphous author because his writing has taken various forms, characters, and styles.
See more about Stephen King in the Favorite Author Section “Stephen King a Literary Influence” on this site.
Fiction and Fantasy take us to where New Knowledge is Found →
Albert Einstein said: “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I conclude that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.”
This thought suggests why he felt this way: “He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.”
Neil Gaiman said: “Fiction has two uses. Firstly, it’s a gateway drug to reading. The drive to know what happens next, to want to turn the page, the need to keep going, even if it’s hard because someone’s in trouble and you have to know how it’s all going to end … that’s a genuine drive. And it forces you to learn new words, think new thoughts, and keep going. To discover that reading per se is pleasurable. Once you learn that, you’re on the road to reading everything”. Gaiman’s article “Why our future depends on libraries, reading, and daydreaming” has much to say about the importance of fiction.”
So how do we find new knowledge from imagined thoughts? Do those new thoughts need a foundation to pull from a more extensive knowledge base?
Both Gaiman and Einstein suggest that fantasy and fiction enable them to go beyond just absorbing the positive expertise they have to beyond where new knowledge is added. This is indicated as reason enough to enjoy those genres and add the pure joy of getting out of our day-to-day world and enjoying the trip. That may be where new knowledge lives. We have to be free from what is blocking our vision. It seems worth it, even if it is just an escape and nothing new occurs.
Saying Problematic to label everything is problematic and a cop-out →
Is saying the word “problematic'‘ has become problematic enough?
Compare that statement to saying: “Overusing the word problematic or misusing it detracts from the instances in which the word is doing actual work and can also overwhelm those trying to learn.”
The Webster’s Dictionary definition of “Problematic” is posing a problem that is difficult to solve or decide, an uncertain future, or something that is a question.
These comments about using the word problematic don’t point to anything particular, and using this word to identify a problem does not need to tell the actual situation. It is enough to say that using the word problem is problematic, and there is no need to explain why.
That said, this seems like a cop-out. Put another way; using that word is dodging, ducking, eluding, and avoiding the subject.
So yes, using the word problematic is a problem and the solution to explain why.
What is the Difference between Thoughts and Thinking? →
Can an essay of thoughts cause you to think? Reports reveal the passive thoughts of the writer’s mind. When we read the article, we think about the ideas, and the writer’s thoughts become our present tense.
Simply put, thinking is present, and thought is the past tense of thinking.
The distinction between thinking and feeling (cognition and emotion) is fundamental to what the mind does. Feelings represent demands upon the thinking of the mind. The work of reason is thinking.
Essays are short, informative pieces of writing that focus on a specific, chosen topic that comes in four traditional forms. An expository essay requires no accurate written analysis, just presenting facts or positions on that topic.
Descriptive essays only require that a writer paint a picture using words that put a reader inside the scene as if they're experiencing it themselves.
A narrative essay tells a story of a personal experience, and an analysis of what the writer learned from that experience may be included.
A persuasive essay requires a writer to make arguments that support their point and include their analysis of those points to conclude. I prefer a persuasive essay mixed with a narrative using personal experience.
In my book, Why Life Stories Change: As You Look At Your Own Life Story, You See Yourself Differently, I used personal stories and observations from my own life to show how a life story shapes our identity and how each time we re-tell the story we see those same events differently (changing the narrative) and by doing so change our self-identity.
Thought Quotes
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself.
“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
Fiction Writers Can Find Characters for Their Stories in Their Own Life Stories →
Fiction can entertain, convey an author's point of view, give us connections and bring experience to us in things we would never be able to experience without it. We learn from fiction, which can influence us as we consider our experiences.
Writers can find their story characters for their novels by looking at their own lives. If a writer or anyone takes this advice to see these future literary characters, they will have relooked at the cast of characters in their own lives and made some choices. Just prioritizing those choices will contribute to reweaving how they perceive their past.
One approach to finding the characters for the writer’s book could be to pick the ten most influential people in their life. Questions about these ten that will help and serve as a guideline, according to author Carolyn See, professor emerita of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, would be: “Whom do you love? Who betrayed you? Whom did you betray? Who drives you nuts? Who is out of your reach? Who is your role model? Who is your benchmark for insanity?” I would suggest that you also ask who made a difference.
She suggests listing the other type of people you know on the second list. “The ones that gave you the willies. Those who creep you out, and you don’t know why?”. You might also ask who hurt you.
Once you have your two lists, you have the central characters for your stories. This advice is good for writing a novel, but it might be good to understand your own nonfiction life.
The novelist weaves the plot points from the interaction of their characters. Often you find great writers talk about how they just listened to the characters and wrote as they put those characters into situations, even suggesting that they were surprised at how the plot worked out. The characters drive the story.
We do the same with our life’s stories and characters as we reweave, update, and make sense of our lives. Our perception changes as we see the characters and many other things differently over time.
Reading Changes Our View of Our Path Taken Throughout Our Life →
I admire those that can quote favorite thoughts from favorite books, famous people, or scriptures. Even more so, I admire those that can remember most of what they have read. I find myself going back and rereading much of what I have already read, and when I do, it often feels like a whole new experience. Each reading brings something new to us.
Why would going back and re-reading bring new thoughts? This same question could be asked as to why you see things differently when you retell your life story. One answer to this question is a crucial point I used in my book: Why Life Stories Change: As you Look at your Own Life Story, You See Yourself Differently. When you re-read something or retell your life story, you see things through a lens that has added experiences to your view.
Abraham Lincoln said: “What I want to know is in books, and my best friend is the one who will get me a book I haven’t read.”
In Lincoln’s quote, he expresses his interest in finding something new to read, but he often uses the books he has already read to make his points. Throughout his life, he frequently quoted scriptures to make his point. Perhaps he felt people would be less likely to question conclusions drawn from scriptures.
Louis L ’Amour was a prolific writer of Western Novels, but his book “Education of a Wandering Man” was his autobiography. Throughout the book, he talks about his life, and we can see that he had a lifelong habit of reading everything he could, and that, indeed, was his education. He tied the events of his life to the things he was then reading, and they combined to form his memoir.
A story from L’Amour’s book told of his life as a young man jumping on a moving train and living in hobo camps, but as part of the story, he recalled books he read while traveling the rails between cities.
Shakespeare’s writings contained over 500 references to the Bible. We could ask ourselves why he chose to do that. Was it an effort to influence his follower’s feelings, and he needed the authority of the quote? Was that the real reason for Lincoln’s similar use of scripture quotes? In both cases, it may have been that both men were readers and that the things quoted were the things that defined the outlook of these men.
Harold Bloom wrote a book titled “How to Read & Why.” He addresses the meaning of this title in his prologue titled “Why Read.” His answer was clear enough. He said it was because “It Matters.” Understanding if it matters to us can be determined by comparing what we read to our lives.
In the scriptures, Luke 10-26, Jesus Christ asked a profound question: "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? This was addressed to a man seeking direction in his life. “ The man was told to go and love the Lord and his neighbors, but the answer came from reading.
Writing a book requires several steps and the one that can be the hardest is the last one
With the recent release of my book, “Work Matters Insights and Strategies for Job Seekers in this Rapidly Changing Economy,” I have reflected on the most challenging part of writing and selling a book. I have listed items that qualify for this list.
Step one is pulling your thoughts and notes together. Most will find this a time-consuming step. A recent book I wrote at the time of this post was “Work Matters, Insights and Strategies for Job Seekers in this Rapidly Changing Economy,” This first step took over a year.
Editing, formatting, finding the right cover design, and production are challenging. Using KDP to produce the books requires learning their system. This is challenging.
Learning how to set up a book on Amazon so it has a chance of selling is very challenging, and it will take a long time and trial and error to figure this out.
Getting book reviews placed on Amazon is a very challenging process. People read the book and tell you they like it but don’t write a review.
Marketing the book, including all efforts to get people to buy the book, is the most important, and it isn’t easy. You can help by purchasing the book and writing a review if you have read this overview.
A conclusion from this Overview
The work required to market a book can far exceed all the other items listed in this overview.