What makes a good writer? More importantly; what makes a good reader? It’s the critical examination skills that Vladimir Nabokov pushes for as well as a good imagination. And don’t forget a good dictionary! Nabokov argues that to be a good reader no preconceptions should have been made upon entering into a new text. He feels that it is insulting to the author when readers limit the world created by the author through their prior generalizations. But forming ideas prior to analyzing something is an important skill used in many subject areas; so why not reading? In science, one must form a hypothesis before carrying out an experiment. In sports, it’s important to analyze the opponent and predict what plan of action they make take. And in reading, predicting what may happen in a story forces us to analyze and think about what may happen next based on what elements in the story we have already seen and observed. In fact, one of the most thrilling, refreshing, and eye-opening things about human life is finding a time when you had a generalization that was wrong. So why does Nabokov dis...
“On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft” is not written in the traditional textbook format. The structure of this book works as an educational tool is because it offers a personal look at how writing has affected one successful novelist's life. Each section of the book contains something important about the craft of writing. The book also includes a great deal of about the personal impact writing has had on Stephen King's life.
When reading someone else's work you need to be certain that you read between the lines. Author's, at times, will attempt to distort information in order to make their beliefs more prominent. In order to avoid this disinformation, you have to learn the difference between denotations and connotations and facts from opinions. Furthermore, you'll have to recognize figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, which can incite specific feelings onto readers.
“How to Read Like a Writer” is an article written by Mike Bunn; after reading the entire texts, I found this article was pretty interesting. As before, to my way of thinking, it would be boring and confused because I was not sure how the author will describe this kind of academic idea; however, I changed my mind after reading the first paragraph. Bunn used an interesting way to start this “formal article”- to introduce himself not just the serious explanation of “RLW” or other things; this fancy way made me meet with him as real and listen to him personally even across the paper. As reading continues, Bunn used plant of evidence to improve how to be a better reader as well as a better writer. Numerous new thoughts about the ways to read are
Harold Bloom understands that we read not only to learn of literary composition but also because “we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are.” This proves true to essentially all humans for any great work of writing. Furthermore, this “difficult pleasure” is not of entertainment or even frivolous enjoyment as one may initially presume. This difficult pleasure refers to quite the opposite: the necessity of bettering ourselves, broadening our minds, and somehow understanding the world in which we live.
On Reading to Write, Stephen King is promoting the idea that becoming a writer involves doing “two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot.”
Right out of the gate, Bradbury explains arguably the most important characteristic any writer can possess: love for one’s work. Instead of droning on about boring fundamentals, Bradbury leaps right into the fun stuff. Instead of espousing trite clichés about his craft, Bradbury embraces the passion and enjoyment that writing fosters. Bradbury immediately gains the reader’s interest by rejecting the conventional methods of discussing writing and instead focusing on why people love to write.
A successful writer is he who is able to transmit ideas, emotions, and wisdom on to his readers. He is cable of stirring emotions and capturing the reader's attention with vivid descriptions and clever dialogues. The writer can even play with the meanings of words and fuse reality with fiction to achieve his goal of taking the reader on a wonderful journey. His tools are but words, yet the art of writing is found in the use of the language to create though-provoking pieces that defy the changing times. Between the lines, voices and images emerge. Not everyone can write effectively and invoke these voices. It is those few who can create certain psychological effects on the reader who can seize him (or her) with inspiring teachings, frightening thoughts, and playful games with the language. These people are true writers…
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
Writing Well, by Donald Hall, is an amazingly interesting textbook. I cannot remember reading an instructional manual with such brilliant imagery, flowing style, and amazing concepts. This is what education should be – interesting, provocative, and natural. However, in the first eleven pages of the text, I do not agree with two of the three analyses of Hall's examples.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
Throughout this year, I have read many different works of early English literature. From reading these works and following the rules of Vladimir Nabokov, I have grown tremendously as a reader since the beginning of this year. From reading Alice in Wonderland to now, I have grown to appreciate literature much more. I have developed a better sense of the English language through the use of a dictionary and the difficult sentence structure of works such as the Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, Le Morte D’Arthur, and the Fairie Queene. Because of the difficult sentence structures, the different word usages, and the deeper meanings wrapped in each of these works, I have learned to reread to better my understanding of the text and to see if I missed anything the first or second time through. I have also learned to not only read a novel or poem just for its story but to look deeper into it while considering its context and purpose. By following Nabokov’s simple rules, I have become a better reader and re-reader.
After reading the essay On Writing by Stephen King, it was apparent that improving writing skills is important. The beginning to forming a better career is to first read because “one learns most clearly what not to do by reading bad prose”. (King) Improving writing skills can further improve verbal communication skills and help to advance in life. When someone improves their writing skills, they can then improve their verbal communication skills. Improving both verbal and written communication skills will lead to a better career path.
The Creature That Opened My Eyes Sympathy, anger, hate, and empathy, these are just a few of the emotions that came over me while getting to know and trying to understand the creature created by victor frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. For the first time I became completely enthralled in a novel and learned to appreciate literature not only for the great stories they tell but also for the affect it could have on someones life as cliché as that might sound, if that weren’t enough it also gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of the idiom “never judge a book by its cover.” As a pimply faced, insecure, loner, and at most times self absorbed sophomore in high school I was never one to put anytime or focus when it came time
with a sure and subtle sense for literary effect, a story-teller worthy to be compared to Chekov or
Critical Reading and Writing in the Discipline (FOUN1019) is a yearlong course designed to improve and develop students’ cognitive, analytical and rhetorical skills. It thereby provides students with the requisite skills to truly join the scholarly arena and become academic writers. I enrolled in the FOUN1019 course with the assumption that I would become more proficient in English Language and a more eloquent communicator. I anticipated that this course would be challenging like many other courses ascribe to a first degree in Marketing; however, nothing could have truly prepared me for the arduous work load that it entails. I had to work assidously throughout the duration of FOUN109 to prepare coursework and conduct research which required