On Writing and Reading

To read is to begin to understand, what it means to write. Only then can one attempt to weave characters from words, and stories from ideas.

I've been reading since I knew how to, however, writing has come more slowly to me. Writing and I haven't always had the best of relationships, throughout much of my early years, I didn't believe myself to be particularly good (at writing, that is). It wasn't something I found enjoyable, if anything it was a necessity. For many years this was my attitude towards the art, which at the time didn't seem to be a skill I possessed. However, as I read, and continued to begrudgingly jot down strings of words, I begun to see its beauty. The intricate branches that collided to form masterpieces, I saw that writing, like a painting, requires forethought, imagination, and determined execution.

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As I continued (and still do) to hone my craft, I finally found an outlet for the stories dancing in my head. However, now I face a new foe: editing. Having to edit 100,000 words of imagination, is no small feat, and will probably take me a while longer. My hope is, that one day I will be able to publish the book which only exists because I learned to read.

Take courage in my favourite wise words of these, more established, authors.

"If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." -Toni Morrison

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very', your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." and "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lighting and a lightning bug." -Mark Twain

"There are three rules to for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." -W. Somerset Maugham