One of my favourite podcasts is CBC’s Writers & Company, hosted by Eleanor Wachtel. I always enjoy listening to it while driving to work in the morning. Wachtel is probably one of the best journalists that I know of, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, coming to each interview well informed and educated. Her breadth of knowledge in her field is outstanding.
I’ve been thinking a lot about why I haven’t been writing much lately, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I haven’t been reading much lately.
The problem with reading is that it takes practice to be good at it. Like most skills, if you don’t keep up with it, it’ll slip away from you. The more you read, the better you’re sure to be at it. Reading is an exercise for the mind, and I’m disinclined toward exercise.
I really enjoy writing, but I don’t write much, if at all, when I’m not reading.
Sure, I read the scrawl of students almost daily. Then there’s the text messages that I receive. I also keep up on a few blogs. We can throw in a few articles, but only when headlines catch my eye. That, I’m afraid, is about it.
What I’m not doing is reading texts that require more than one sitting to get through. I’ve not been exercising my ability to carry a story from one page to the next, let alone from one day to the next.
It’s unfortunate, really. I should be picking up a book more often, instead of lazily scrolling through my YouTube subscriptions feed.
See, whenever I listen to Writers & Company, for a brief moment, I wonder what it might be like to be invited to an interview with Wachtel.
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