#readbeforeyouwrite

[jesperfilth24]

If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.

Stephen King

[apple-cypher]

Start Anywhere

This is day two, and I have no idea where to start. So I’m going to start by writing about writing, or, more accurately, writing about not knowing what to write.

I recently read a memoir written by Haruki Murakami entitled What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. He is one of my favorite novelists, and this was the first time I’ve read his non-fiction.

Murakami started writing when he was about 30 years old, right around when he started to run habitually. Since then he has run many many marathons and triathlons, and has written many novels. He sort of just came to the conclusion one day, that he wanted to write a novel, that he could write a novel. Reading this both humbled and inspired me—he had no formal education in creative writing, but instead just 30 years of life, and the conviction that he could do it, to inform him.

I’m almost 23. I’ve noticed myself using my age as a marker of my ability, of where I should or shouldn’t be, what I should and shouldn’t have done already. I’m not Murakami. I am not Hemingway. But by reading their thoughts I have picked up slices of their attitude, perspectives I can’t unread that slowly bleed into my own words. Francine Prose writes about this process in her book Reading like a Writer. Prose says that we learn how to write from the writers we read. Whether by osmosis or by focused, intentional observation of their techniques and style, we pick up where they leave off.

If someone paid me to, I don’t think I could point to exactly where in my writing I invoke the voices of the writers I’ve read. Well, maybe I could, but it would take countless hours looking back and forth, reading my work, line by line, side by side with the dozens of authors I’ve been graced with knowing. And I really don’t care what is wholly me and what came as a result of me reading. I hope more of the latter is the case, for then my writing would carry with it the brilliance of others’ experiences.

So with that in mind, I look forward to reading more than I write, to finishing Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke and letting him influence my own sentences. Like Prose did, I too hope that he, and everyone else I read and love (and even sometimes dislike), adds something to my writing. I don’t want to be isolated from thoughts that are not mine.

[readbeforeyouwrite]

Started my bullet journal!!!! I'm so excited to try out my first calligraphy pen!

[daddyslittleflame]

#97

ISFJ, Libra, and Hufflepuff

Thank you for the ask!! :)

[readbeforeyouwrite]

Tag Thing

I was tagged by @kendallreads so here we go! Name: Christine
Nicknames: Tina......long story. 
Birthday: July 20
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Favorite color: Red and Purple
Time and date at current moment: 1:21 December 5, 2015
Average hours of sleep: Around 8
Lucky Number: 1 & 7
Last thing I googled: "Grandkids Collage Frame"
First word that comes to mind: Penis....wtf O.o One place that makes me happy: Home. 
How many blankets I sleep under: 10. Not an exaggeration. 
Favorite fictional character: Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood
Book: Harry Potter, the Book Thief, FanGirl, Ready Player One
Animation: Alice in Wonderland, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 
TV show: There's so many...
Favorite Beverage: Diet Coke
Favorite Food: Pasta
Last movie I’ve seen in cinemas: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Dream Holiday: England 
Dream Wedding: small and sentimental
Dream Job: getting paid for reading. Okay! Now I will tag: anyone.

[readbeforeyouwrite]

Tumblr Tag

I was tagged by @turnthepage-livethestory so thank you!! And I highly recommend this awesome blog :) 1) Birthday: July 20 2) Gender: Female 3) Relationship status: Single 4) Zodiac sign: Cancer 5) Siblings: One sister & One brother 6) Favourite colors: Red and Purple 7) Wake up and sleep times: weekdays wake up at 6 and go to bed at 10:30. Weekends whenever the hell I feel like it! 8) Lemonade or iced tea: iced tea 9) Coke or Pepsi: Diet Coke 10) Day or night: Night 11) Text or call: Text. 12) Makeup or natural: eh, depends on my mood. 13) Met a celebrity: no :( 14) Smile or eyes: Eyes 15) Light or dark hair: Dark 16) Shorter or taller: Taller 17) Intelligence or attraction: Intelligence always. 18) Chapstick or lipstick: Chapstick 19) City or country: Country I tag: Anyone who wants to do this :) put yourself out there!

[zahramediagroup]

While boys and girls are back to school this week, we're also hitting the books and doing a lovely bit of research #backtoschool #research #creativewriting #howtoguide #contentmarketing #readbeforeyouwrite

[techislovetechislife-blog-blog]

Tech tip of the day: read the Terms of Service before accepting. You honestly never know what you're signing up for. Freaking out later because you failed to read the notice makes you look dumb. If you don't want to read it, skim it. Or utilize this beauty: http://www.tools4noobs.com/summarize/