Wednesday Words

Reading to Write

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Good writers are good readers.”

When I was a teen, I would get lost in books, so much so that I had no idea what was happening around me.

I remember reading one day, and my brother handed me a glass of iced tea. I was thoroughly confused as to why he thought I wanted one, so I said, “What’s this?” He told me, “I asked if you wanted some tea, and you said, ‘Yes!'” I had no idea I’d even engaged in conversation with him.

I stopped reading for fun when my kiddos were young, and having no clue what they were doing was not a wise idea! Since it takes a few years for children to be trusted with a bit of independence, I lost the leisure-reading habit.

Now I’m over 50, and my kids are adults. It’s taken me this long to get back into my reading pastime!

Writing Upgrades

At the same time, I have been wanting to invest in my writing skills, and that is the purpose of this blog page. Whatever their craft, one should never stop investing in building their skill set!

One way to expand our writing is to improve our vocabulary. I am taking on the challenge of finding new words to use, and here’s how it works:

1. Read!
2. When discovering an unfamiliar word, look up the definition and write it down. This gets the word in your mind using two different senses–visual and tactile.
3. Have your smartphone pronounce it for you. This adds an auditory aspect to your learning.
4. Find a way to use this word in speaking or writing.

And there you have the background for Wednesday Words!

I will be writing with words I have discovered recently. You are certainly free to use the same to write your own post! I’d love to see what you craft as well.

Cheers to better writing!