Reading Nought Or Reading Too Much?

Writing is an art. Words can express, words can heal, words can soothe. Ah the magic of powerful words! We all have our own style. Every writer is unique in their own way. Blogging is a platform to portray my writing to the world. And a great platform it is indeed. I have met many people through this interface. Some have become very close on a personal front, few vanished, some come and go, but many have remained and become good friends with whom I interact on a regular basis via this platform. My blogger pals are from various parts of the world. We speak different languages, follow different faiths, but on this interface we follow one language. The language of the heart and the mind is the same universally.

I have read somewhere, to be a good writer one should first be a good reader. Nothing more true. Once during my college days, when I had mentioned reading as a hobby to someone, they said, "Talk about something more active". Hello? If it had not been for all the reading I have done since my early years (read NOT academics), and still do, I don't think I would have developed my lingua franca or the way of putting down words. Reading goes a long way in developing one's writing skills. On contrary to what most people think, reading is not a passive process. Sometimes, it takes more effort to read than the effort that actually went into create a piece of writing. I had instituted an award last year in appreciation of my readers. As I said at that time, it takes great depth of mind to understand the true essence of what the writer wants to convey.

It is a nice feeling when people read your work, and even better when they take the effort to let you know their opinion about it. Not everyone takes out the time to do so. As much as I appreciate my readers and their views, at times it is very nettlesome that some just comment for the sake of commenting without having even read a word of the post. I am not pointing out anyone here. I know some posts of mine, especially poems, convey thoughts which are hard to unravel. But most of the time, I use simple language with a very clear message which conveys what the post is all about. I do not expect anyone to analyze my writing with a microscope and dissect it, because nobody could possibly have so much time. Still, there are many readers who add so much to my work by their wonderful and erudite opinions, for which I am ever grateful.

I try to read and interpret the works of others in the best way I can. If I do not understand a post, I check the labels. If those do not help too, I ask the writer. If I do not have the time to read, I go back later. If I do not feel like commenting on a post, I simply do not. Or at least I comment on that part of the post I can relate to. However, some people just twist the whole meaning of a post, most of the time unintentionally, because they just scan through and then rush to comment, thus soiling the beauty of the emotions and vibes of its true substance. If such readers are one end of the spectrum, the other extreme are those who read too much in between the lines and see the whole thing in an entirely different light, and again end up changing the whole meaning of the post. Then there are some who just leave messages without having even bothered to touch upon a single point of the post in concern.

Sigh! Given the above, can you blame me for being a bit nettled right now? Everyone has a different point of view, and a right to express their opinion, which is so valuable. In fact, I wish many a time that someone would review my writing with a critical eye, as I intend to publish my works someday. But I cannot stand people who make a jest of my work with their careless, offhanded, irrelevant comments, even if it is not intentional. If you really read this post, you would know what I am trying to say. If you still do not get it, all I can say is :

Images :

*Girl Writing by hank1
*To Read by esperanzas
*Read Before You Comment by LeoLeonardo