Like this:

I have kind of hit a block in my writing. I still know what I want to write, but everytime I sit down to write I feel an urge to read more. It’s not just a desire to read, it is more of a feeling like I am not competent enough yet in what I am writing about. However, will I ever feel truly competent enough?

I came across some quotes by Samuel Johnson. Someone had tweeted a quote by him:

“I never want to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.”

That really struck me.

Johnson was a giant in the literary field in 1700′s. He was an essayist, lexicographer, poet, editor, literary critic, and a famous talker. He is the second most quoted person in the English language. The first? William Shakespeare! So, I perused many of his quotes about reading and writing. Some that stuck out to me, related to where I am at right now were:

1. “What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” Cool. So the fact that getting my thoughts on paper is taking effort is a good thing! That is encouraging!

2. “When a man writes from his own mind, he writes very rapidly. The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” Writing off the top of your head is not that hard; however, it also tends to not be that lasting. Writing significant stuff that endures means being resourced and knowledgable in what you are writing about.

3. “A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.” Ok. I get it Dr. Johnson! I will get back to work now.

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