Interlude: Reading Profusely, Writer's Block, and Levels of Reading
This weekend is Mother’s Day. So naturally I’ve been thinking about my mom.
In the last decade or so of her life, she wrote a column for the local newspaper. She wrote about life in the little town I grew up in, and she infused her articles with her quirky sense of humor. (If you're curious, here's one article from the newspaper archives.)
My mom's knack for writing didn't come from a higher education. She graduated from high school and then worked as a secretary for several years before becoming a full-time homemaker.
So you might be wondering, how did she develop her writing skills?
She read, a lot.
Nearly every 2 weeks, she would visit the local library to load up on books on every topic in every genre you can imagine. She often took me and one of my brothers, and we would all walk out of the library with our arms loaded with as many books as we could carry—and they were (nearly) all for her.
She learned to write well not by taking courses and getting degrees, but by reading widely and profusely.
How then did she manage to get a regular column in the local newspaper? She wrote a few letters to the editor. And the newspaper noticed her talent.
Why am I telling you this story? Because writing well isn't necessarily about degrees and credentials. It's about committing to your craft and dedicating the time and energy to hone it—and then building the confidence to share your work.
Now onto this week's round-up...
Round-up
From My Desk
5 Books to Sharpen Your Scientific and Medical Writing Skills
Whether you're drafting your first manuscript or polishing your hundredth, having the right resources on your shelf makes all the difference. In this video, I share five essential books that are my tried-and-true recommendations for people who want to hone their scientific and medical writing skills.
Reading
Ness Letters: Writer’s Block is Optional
“...your brain encodes information better when you produce it yourself. . . [T]his is called the Generation Effect. A meta-analysis of 86 studies involving over 17,000 participants found that people remember material substantially better – roughly a 40% boost – when they produce it themselves than when they simply read it.”
The Best Summary of How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
“Think of these levels as reading to entertain, reading to inform, reading to understand, and reading to master. When you learned to read in elementary school, you were taught to read for entertainment. If you made it to high school and college, you learned to read to inform. This is where most people stop. But most of the value comes at the last two levels.”
Watching
How to Improve Your Communication Skills
In this video, Matt Abrahams and Dr. Andrew Huberman discuss tools you can use to improve your communication skills. They discuss the importance of providing structure to help the audience remember, the power of interactive learning, and the value of reviewing and reflecting on your communication.
Quote
"The expert in anything was once a beginner." — Helen Hayes
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
