One of my great pleasures in life is reading, but guilt sneaks in whenever I sit down to imbibe in a gluttony of chapters.

“A waste of time,” whispers the little voice in my head. “You must vacuum, dust, write something, or cook a meal … anything but read.”

Such lies must be refuted instantly. The truth is that reading is a necessity, especially for the writer. Reading exercises our brains and reduces stress while increasing our personal knowledge vocabulary. If there is one thing a writer needs, it is a better vocabulary.

Memory is strengthened as we deal with plots and subplots and work to keep all the characters straight. As we solve our murder mystery read, we learn analytical thinking skills and improve our focus and concentration.

If none of this encourages your read, remember that reading also gives us better writing skills and even helps us find our own writing voice. All this while we enjoy ourselves in peace and quiet … that is, if we ignore that nasty little voice which constantly yells, “Vacuum! Vacuum! Vacuum!”

Brenda J Wood, author and motivational speaker
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