28/07/2013

Readers vs Non-Readers

"The world is divided between readers and non-readers – and the difference between the two is enormous and unbridgeable.

Readers absorb; non-readers broadcast.

Readers know stuff; non-readers are running on empty.

Readers are curious; non-readers aren't.

Readers are obsessed with the world beyond themselves; non-readers are self-obsessed.

Reading, like any addiction, has its problems. Once you discover that the best books are better company than most people, you can lose patience with the company of most people. To be caught without a book or a paper in a queue, at an airport or on a train, is extreme agony.The cure for the addiction, though, is easy – always have a book or paper on you; and do your best to minimise your time in the company of boring people – themselves almost always non-readers."

From: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harrymount/100070190/the-world-is-divided-between-interesting-readers-and-boring-non-readers/



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18/07/2013

Serious Writers Read

"A lot of people want to improve their writing skills, both professionally and personally. In order to achieve that, a key ingredient is often ignored: Reading.

Generally, there are two things that writers recommend to others who want to improve: more writing, and reading.

More writing is an obvious one, since practice makes perfect. But writing in a vacuum won't do us much good. Reading exposes us to other styles, other voices, other forms, and other genres of writing. Importantly, it exposes us to writing that's better than our own and helps us to improve.

Since reading is something we learn to do when we first start school, it's easy to think we've got it sorted out and we don't need to work on this skill anymore. Or, that we don't need to exercise our reading muscles anymore."

Let's take a look at five unconventional ways to become better writers by changing the way we read":

http://www.lifehacker.co.in/life/Become-a-Better-Writer-by-Learning-to-Be-a-Skilled-Reader-First/articleshow/21123846.cms



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Writing Sheds Light on Mental Illness

"I have often analyzed how mental illness can be tracked, discovered, and understood through the written word. Let’s take a break from science and take a look at literature. The analysis of writings opens a door to explore alternative methods of understanding individuals suffering from manic-depressive disorder.

"Through a thorough examination of writings, we can look at specific mental states of individuals, which in turn may inform those looking for answers, or symptoms of bipolar minds, which often times get NOS (Not Otherwise Specified) as a diagnosis.  The medical field continues to evolve in their understanding of the intricate, often mysterious behaviors of manic-depressive individuals.  A look at reoccurring themes and stylistic techniques may reveal affected writers share a commonality in their writings.  An exploration of the works may help find a way for society to better understand individuals suffering from mental disease, and discover those not yet diagnosed with manic-depression.

"Throughout history there have been writers and poets that suffer from manic depression.  If we take a close look at the writings of these renowned writers we find a link to mental illness and the English language. An examination of their stylistic techniques, diction, metaphor, simile and expression manifest their mental illness which can help discover how mental illness can be learned outside of science, engineering, and neurology."

More: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/manic-depression/2013/07/17/the-groundbreaking-link-between-mental-illness-and-literature-emily-dickinson-william-wordsworth-and-samuel-taylor-coleridge/



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17/07/2013

Alcohol in the writing life

"Alcohol is often a strong current in the writing life"...

"Why do writers drink? The answer might be “for the same reasons as everyone else”. The evidence from Alcoholics Anonymous is that writers do drink, but then so do cobblers, surgeons and street sweepers. Alcoholics are not all creative, sensitive and intelligent, though there is often a self-pitying grandiosity which persuades the boozer that he is uniquely blessed, or cursed, by thin skin. 

"But if writers are no more likely to be alcoholics, they will more commonly write about it. And the justifications, evasions and fabulations of the serious drinker find a parallel in the creative act of the writer, whose livelihood depends on the creative reshaping of reality, the juggling of dreams and the generation of alternative realities. 

"The challenge for the writer who tries to write while drunk, rather than simply rewarding himself with a drink when the day’s work is done, is that the same chemical relaxation afforded by alcohol quickly destroys any sense of the rhythm of a sentence."

From: http://m.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/alcohol-the-source-and-scourge-of-literary-talent-1-3000742



Conspiracy Theory or Truth? Find out in SpyWriter Jack King's:
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Novels define morality

"Now, in the modern age, the novel is the way we discover what we really believe.  If we tell a story, and it seems true and the characters seem real, and the resolution is correct, we are able to say that we are certain, or more certain than before about what we think is true.

The novel in the modern age is the answer or the response to a line in Camus’ notebook, which is, “That wild human longing for clarity….”  It is this wild longing that the novel satisfies, and as long as it does that, and as along as a novelist is honest about what it is like to be human, it will not only survive, but thrive.

It will become the method by which we judge our morality."

From: http://www.salon.com/2013/07/16/author_craig_nova_the_novel_is_the_way_we_discover_what_we_really_believe/



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14/07/2013

Reading and writing prerequisites of future leaders

"As a reflection of many adults, many children nowadays prefer everything to be easy and instant. So parents play a big role in encouraging children to love reading. The role of the school curriculum is also equally important. Regretfully, our educational curriculum today also weighs less on reading and writing"...

"reading and writing were two inseparable skills that children needed to develop, as both skills greatly influenced the development of other soft skills needed in adulthood, such as leadership and the ability to express opinion. "Not only will they be instilled with the value of virtues from the stories they read, reading and writing skills prepare children to be ready to face society, to bravely express their opinions and be less [passive]. I believe, those are some of the qualities required for our future leaders"...

More: http://www.thejakartapost.com/bali-daily/2013-05-23/authors-urged-write-better-children-s-books.html



Conspiracy Theory or Truth? Find out in SpyWriter Jack King's:
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Conspiracy Theory vs Official Lies

"The CIA’s campaign to popularize the term ‘conspiracy theory’ and make conspiracy belief a target of ridicule and hostility must be credited, unfortunately, with being one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time.” 

"Recent studies by psychologists and social scientists in the US and UK suggest that contrary to mainstream media stereotypes, those labeled “conspiracy theorists” appear to be saner than those who accept the official versions of contested events.

"The authors [of a new online study] were surprised to discover that it is now more conventional to leave so-called conspiracist comments than conventionalist ones... In other words, among people who comment on news articles, those who disbelieve government accounts of such events as 9/11 and the JFK assassination outnumber believers by more than two to one. That means it is the pro-conspiracy commenters who are expressing what is now the conventional wisdom, while the anti-conspiracy commenters are becoming a small, beleaguered minority."

Read More: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/07/12/313399/conspiracy-theorists-vs-govt-dupes/



Conspiracy Theory or Truth? Find out in SpyWriter Jack King's:
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04/07/2013

Oxygen for the Mind

"Today our children don’t read works of imagination and the results are what we see today. Children or students who don’t ask questions in class but just take in everything the teachers feed them. Because we don’t learn to think, that is why we have students and workers who just copy and paste everything.

"Reading should not end after class or when the teacher leaves the classroom. Both parents and teachers should encourage children to read. Buying them books to read is one thing and making sure they read them is another.

"It’s high time we parents realised the big mistake we are making by taking our children to school but not encouraging them to read.

"...children and young people need good books, funny books, emotional books, fantasy books, books that enable them to think and see in new ways.

“If you live without oxygen, you suffocate. And books are the oxygen of the mind, even in these days of the internet."

From: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=56634



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Books by Jack King:


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