Reading like a writer

“All men have stars but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You—you alone—will have the stars as no one else has them.”

Reading is fun, but reading like a writer is even better. It is expansive. I will reveal the reasons why my mind becomes hyperactive every time I read something.

1)      I pay attention to the choice of words. If I encounter words that are not familiar to me, I look them up in the dictionary. Then I write them down. They become part of my “bank account of words”. Feel free to check my post on my endless love affair with words to understand this eternal infatuation.

2)      Whenever I read a story, I pay attention to the way each and every sentence is crafted. I notice how they are arranged into paragraphs. If I like their rhythm, I read them more than once.

3)      I notice how the writer unfolds the plot; I examine the ways the author manages the tension and the conflicts.

4)      I observe the characters. I learn to see how the writer reveals information about them.

5)      Many times I take notes on ideas that occur to me while I read the story. I explore the layers of meaning. I delve into the psychology of the characters and analyze their relationships and conflicts. I relate them to the world.

      6)      My mind elaborates the scenes. Snapshots of the characters and vivid images of the setting flash into my mind.

      All these actions that happen simultaneously while I read something enhance the reading experience.

 What about you? What is your reading experience like?

 I will be taking a break from blogging for 4-6 weeks. I will keep posting links to my works on my list of published material located to your left (my right.) If you miss my posts, feel free to check them. The upper part has the most recently published ones. 

 Thanks.