The following can also be found at the About page.
Since 2015, I’ve written eleven novels. One thing I’ve learned from fiction writing experts is the importance of character development, especially for the story’s protagonist (aka, hero). A common ingredient in great stories is for the hero to have a positive character arc. This means, she (or he) will mature enough to overcome a weakness by the end of the story, and thus be prepared to live a better life. This maturing means she learns something new, which obviously means at the beginning of the story there are things she doesn’t know or her knowledge is incomplete or confused.
Novels represent a story world and its occupants. These stories often feel more real than the world you and I experience. However, one giant similarity between our world and story worlds is we, as characters, start off knowing very little. As time goes by, through formal schooling and life experiences, we learn more and more. Sometimes, often really, we grow stagnant believing we’ve learned all we need to know concerning certain subjects. Take football for example (American football that is). Don’t real zealous fans know more than the refs? You bet we do, and it’s probably okay we don’t invest time learning more.
But, when it comes to more important issues (not to denigrate football), like those involving religion, politics, and science, shouldn’t we choose a positive character arc for our lives? That is, being open to learning which portends assurance we’ll grow and mature as we age. Maybe we need to return to the drawing board and start over (tell ourselves to Think Again, as does Adam Grant in his wonderful book), like a hero does at the beginning of a new novel. For some of us, we might start with assessing our weaknesses which likely include those areas we feel so certain about.
Thus, this positive character arc in real life greatly depends on a commitment to reading. In sum, this process is what I call Reading to Death–to discover and dispel false opinions and beliefs, replacing them with the truth. On the contrary, I suspect a negative character arc will be virtually guaranteed if we fail to actively pursue reading.
So, you want to adopt and implement reading as a lifelong pursuit but have trouble reading for more than a few minutes at a time. Maybe, you could benefit from an active pursuit of mindfulness, what Sam Harris (and others) refer to as meditation. To further understand what I’m talking about, I encourage you to listen to Sam Harris describe the importance of mental training (6 minute audio). Mental Training.
I have but one question. Are you open to challenging your thinking? If so, I encourage you to read this blog. It’s all about challenging the status quo.
The Pencil Driven Life 