When Did You Learn To Read?

When did you learn to read? It’s a question a lot of people get asked. For some, it was before they started formal schooling, often at their mother’s knee. Others learned later. Perhaps it was more of a struggle due to dyslexia or Irlens syndrome or visual problems. For many of us, reading is one of the great pleasures in life. Like a delicious wine, or a piece of beautiful music, or fine chocolate. It has the power to inform, to transport you through time, to other worlds and places. It can encourage empathy and understanding. 

At the moment, it provides escapism, a place to go when we cannot physically move. Through books I can visit other countries, from small town USA to the beaches of Australia. The bustling cities of India and the heat of an Egyptian desert. Reading is the key that opens the door to a million different worlds.

As a writer, reading is not just a pleasure and a joy. It is a vital tool. We need to read our peers to discover what is new and current. To inspire us when we are flagging. To share the delights of another author’s creation with our readers.

I was one of those people who learned to read before I started school. By the time I was ten I had finished the school reading scheme and had read most of the books in the school library. Every day of the six weeks summer holidays I would take my bike, cycle to our village library, take out the maximum five books, come home and sit on my garden swing all day reading them one after another. Then I would take them back the next day and repeat it all over again.

I devoured the works of Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Agatha Christie, Ruby Fergusson, Elinor M Brent-Dyer, and Enid Blyton. I read Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Just William, PG Wodehouse, Fairytales and legends. I gobbled Ngaio Marsh, PD James and the Brother Cadfael tales. I read every Mills and Boon I could lay my hands on leaving me with a lifelong admiration for those brilliant authors who compose tiny, escapist masterpieces in under 50,000 words. Betty Neels, and Violet Winspear fill my shelves alongside their more modern counterparts, Kate Walker, Jessica Hart, Liz Fielding and Kate Hardy.

Like so many of my fellow authors, what we read and have read inspires and informs our own writing. The clever plotting of Agatha Christie. The brilliant observations of society by Jane Austen, the world building of Andre Norton. The emotional manipulation by James Patterson and the witty fun of Jenny Cruise and Sophie Kinsella.

The advice I give to all aspiring writers is to go and read. Read the market you are hoping to write for, read outside the market. What do you enjoy reading? What don’t you like? Sometimes what you enjoy reading is not always what you are best at writing. When someone says they want to write for say, ‘Mills and Boon’, and I ask who their favourite author in the line is, or which ones have they read lately, and they say they don’t read them or produce something that was written twenty years ago, then I despair. How can they know what the market is? What editors are looking for? The readers’ expectations? I often remind them that the easier a book is to read, very often the harder it was to write. This is true of all genres. It is part of your research.

As a writer I am always looking to improve my work. I read the writers who are at the top of their game. The ones the readers enjoy, the ones snapped up by publishers. I look to see what they are doing well. What areas can I improve in? What do I enjoy and admire as a reader?

Mostly though I read for pleasure. For escapism in a busy world. When all other certainty seems confused or in disarray I can slip between the pages of a book and lose myself in a world that someone else has created for me. A world where a happy ending might be guaranteed, or a villain bought to justice.  These are not a guilty pleasure or a bit of fluff. No one should ever feel that they have to explain, apologize or denigrate a book they enjoy. We don’t do this with films or TV programmes. If we can own being a fan of Love Island, then we can certainly own reading and enjoying romance.

So, read on, tell the world, share the love and, if it inspires you – write.

—

Helena Dixon splits her time between the Black Country and Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010 as Nell Dixon. She now writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime. Nell enjoys hearing from readers and you can read her news and contact her via her website at http://www.nelldixon.com visit her blog at http://www.nelldixonrw.blogspot.com find her on Twitter @NellDixon and friend her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nell-Dixon/228642037151856

Her latest release is Murder at Enderley Hall

An escape to the country… ends in death.

Summer 1933. Fresh from the discovery that she has family living nearby, Kitty Underhay has packed her carpet bag, commandeered a chambermaid and set off on a visit to stately Enderley Hall. She’s looking forward to getting to know her relatives, as well as the assembled group of house guests. But when elderly Nanny Thoms is found dead at the bottom of the stairs after papers of national importance are stolen, Kitty quickly learns that Muffy the dog’s muddy paws on her hemline are the least of her problems.

Calling on ex-army captain Matthew Bryant for assistance, Kitty begins to puzzle out the mystery. And when more shocking murders follow, the stakes are raised for the daring duo as never before. Which of the guests stand to gain from the theft of the documents? And which, as the week progresses, stand to lose their lives?

A charming cozy historical murder mystery that fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss won’t be able to put down!

‘Endearing, engaging characters; and a fast-moving plot line filled with unexpected twists and turns. This is a whodunit that you will not want to put down till it’s done!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘I loved this cosy mystery. There were many twists and turns and I couldn’t wait to find out the identity of the perpetrator behind the crimes. I look forward to reading more in this series.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Gripping from the very first page. It was quite difficult to put the book down… Very deserving of 5 stars and more.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0825Z6KBR/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0825Z6KBR?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_1&storeType=ebooks

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips