How to Be a Creative Reader

What do I mean by creative reader? The term could be used for many things, but this article proposes that creative writing is just the beginning for any artist or reader, that creative reading can be done by everyone. It means picking out the small diamonds in the rough of the publishing world. You don’t have to be a writer or an artist, but in many ways you express yourself by choosing what to read. So let’s explore how to be a creative reader.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Books to read
• <br>Time to read
• <br>Willingness to try new authors
• <br>An understanding of good art

1. Finding the Hidden Passions:<br>First, you must discover your inner passions for reading. It may not be a dying art; it may be something more than that. What matters is you sitting down and deciding to explore the mind of someone else, a writer trying to express himself (or herself), and doing it in the pages of a novel, short story, or even a history book. All writers have something to say. You offer them rewards by doing things like buying their works. You also offer rewards by word of mouth. This reading becomes your hidden passion. It becomes something big, taking over your nights, so instead of escaping into TV you are escaping into the thoughts of another. It’s powerful to read.

2. Choosing Favorite Authors:<br>So you have some idea of your hidden passion. Maybe you like the masterpieces of Hunter Thompson or the odd science fiction of Philip K. Dick. Whatever your hidden passion, there comes a time when a creative reader says, “this is what I like, this is what I will read.” Why is this? Because thousands of books are published every year. If you like Stephen King, you buy Stephen King.

3. Taking a Chance:<br>In order to be a creative reader you must also be willing to take some chances, namely on new authors. First time authors need support; they are young and vibrant, middle aged and hopeful, or old and wise. They say things in novels few others do. They make mistakes, too, you catch them. But it can be exciting to be on the cutting edge of a new writer, one who seems to have developed his voice.

4. Ignoring the critics:<br>There is an old line: most book critics are failed writers. In some ways it’s true. It may be hard to sell a car, but it’s harder to sell a book. So this fateful step means you are not entirely ignoring the critics; yet you know what you like in a good book. Sometimes the critics have it wrong. Some people might not have a clue who Harry Potter is, why he practices magic. Some may think a writer’s of genre books are selling out, like the horror novels of Stephen King or Peter Straub. So you will be following your heart as a creative reader, not the newspapers that publish short “this book stinks” reviews. It may stink, but you will never know unless you give it a chance.

5. Developing an Opinion on Great Works:<br>The last step in the forming of a creative reader is rather simple to say, complicated in practice. You need to be a student of the great works. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway, sure, but a creative reader should develop her own opinion on the big and small writers out there. You need to understand what it takes to make a great novel or how-to book, because it’s what makes you just as creative as the writer behind it. You don’t have to be a writer; you should simply get an understanding of what it takes to be great. Some works deserve to be respected, odd grammar and all. This allows the creative reader a chance to expand what she reads.

Tips & Warnings

• Buying a book supports an author, so consider it, as films and TV do far better than books.
• <br>Creative readers need to take reviews with a grain of salt. On the other hand, many critics are more knowledgeable in certain fields than the common creative reader. Find a critic who likes what you like; stick with this writer as you would your favorite authors.
• Just because a book is considered a classic doesn’t mean it will appeal to you. This is another case of ignoring the critics, as some stories are perfectly done but devoid of life. Some stories are ineptly done but full of life.