Readers Who Write by Lorrie Orr

 

Doris is the eldest girl, with three younger siblings,
 of which there would eventually be 9 more.

Every night, Doris' father sat in his armchair, unfolded his newspaper, and began reading. Four-year-old Doris watched his lips moving, forming the words silently as he read in English, his second language. Doris wanted desperately to read, so much so that during the day, she would sit in his chair, hold the newspaper as best she could, and move her lips. Sadly, this method did not seem to help her decipher words in the least, but once she started school, reading came easily. Doris grew up to become my mother and loves to read to this day.

Do you remember learning to read? Dick and Jane were the stories I read in Grade One, and I do not remember the learning process, but the joy of reading has never left me. So much happens when I read. I escape into other worlds. My mind races and/or calms. I learn about a plethora of subjects. I deepen my connection with God, not only when I read the Bible, but also when I see how He is present in others' lives in the stories I devour. I am motivated to do things. Reading is my great delight.

Reading teaches me much about writing. Do you know a writer who does not enjoy reading? I don't. Stephen King says, "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." How I read influences how much I learn. 

I read quickly, often racing through books to get to the denouement, then most often sitting back with satisfaction at a tale well-told. And since I miss a lot when I do that, I often return to the story, reading more slowly, taking note of the way the author uses words or details to bring about a desired outcome. Francine Prose (what a great name for a writer), says "We all begin as close readers. Even before we learn to read, the process of being read aloud to, and of listening, means that we are taking in one word after another, one phrase at a time, that we are paying attention..." When I read to my young granddaughters, I read the story as it is written the first few times. Then I begin changing individual words. The little girls love to catch me out and correct me. They are paying attention. They know that the words I substitute do not fit the story. They are learning to delight in reading.

Learning from literature, from reading, teaches me by positive models. I ask myself why the author chose this word over that one, how this sentence is constructed, why this gesture is included. Strunk and White's classic Elements of Style tells me what and what not to do. In reading literature, I see those elements at work. Prose, in her work Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them cautions that the "advantage of reading widely, as opposed to trying to formulate a series of general rules, is that we learn there are no general rules, only individual examples to help point you in a direct in which you might want to go." I notice Hemingway's concise way with words and L. M. Montgomery's flowery use of them. I see how Charlotte Bronte uses colour to evoke meaning in Jane Eyre. The list could go on and on. 

Last summer I read a cleverly constructed light novel dealing with time travel. The ending startled me and I found myself going back and forth in the book, looking at clues the author had written with seeming effortlessness. I love the story in Acts 8 of Philip hearing the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah and asking him if he understood what he read. Those words led to grace and salvation. The power of words cannot be understated. My words and your words are not inspired as Isaiah's are, and yet God uses our writing to his glory. 

What do you enjoy reading? 

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island. Sitting down with a cup of tea and a book is a lovely way to spend a few hours, inside, outside, on a boat, or in the woods. Her favourite genres include mystery, history, memoir, historical fiction, cooking, gardening, and just about anything printed between two covers.