Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

I often feel the pull of the written word, encouraging me to read and write fiction far more than I have time for. Yet I have so many stressors in my life, pulling me in all directions, halting my efforts and sapping my strength. It is all I can do to put a few words down on paper for a book chapter I am working on or scribble a few notes for my movie list. I write this from the standpoint of finishing my doctoral dissertation in the spring, teaching the equivalent of six courses, and trying my best to seek tenure. During these rough spells, I have been trying to read fiction and slowly writing a little. Someday I hope to get back to my manuscript and at least finish one novel or a few short stories or pull a few more of my grey hairs out. I take comfort in the fact that many are late bloomers to this fiction game. However, I have been writing fiction for more than two decades and have never taken it all that seriously. It is a given, but there is something to be said for sitting dow...

One good thing about reading for exams is that what I read will always be with me. I'm a strong proponent of the idea that what has been read can't be unread and what you have written can't be unwritten. While the details might get hazy - plot, themes, characters, etc. - the very act of reading a book adds to your mental catalog of literature, helping you to better understand, if not create, your own essays and writing. Each book read shapes your mental corpus and allows you to draw on the experiences of other writers. Each essay written focuses your abilities. So the more reading and writing you do, the better you will get at both and the better you will be able to analyze and comprehend what others have written and what you need to know to keep writing. This all might be a tad elementary, but a continued sharpened knowledge base coupled with life experience can go along way to keeping you in the game.