"Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window." -William Faulkner
Inspired by these words of acclaimed writer William Faulkner, I have one word of advice for my generation: read. There's not more you can do that will have such a positive impact on your life and our society. The best-read people are often those who are the best leaders. The best-read people understand the world they live in and why it operates the way it does.
When you pick up a book, you uncover a world and suddenly have the ability and the call to jump into it. A reader can escape from the current moment, and immerse themselves in the mind of another human being, perhaps from another time, another place.
It is essential to the success of the world that we endow a culture of literacy. And with that, to establish a practice of enjoying and exploiting that culture. By doing so, the public will gain proficiency in the "three C's of dynamic literacy": communication, confidence, and creativity.
By analyzing and studying the ways that different writers convey different ideas, one gains knowledge of what is necessary to convey a message clearly, what rhetoric works, and what does not. This is where the idea of a dynamic literacy comes about, as, ideally, people should be constantly changing and manipulating their ideas and techniques on how and what is the best way to say something. Knowledge of how to clearly communicate is largely a consequence of a culture of reading and writing.
Now, once a person knows how to best convey a message, they will feel a wave of confidence wash over them. This only catalyzes the writing process and it further leads to putting out new works for people to read, to absorb, to study.
Creativity in regard to writing is born out of confidence in that skill. The confident writer will tend towards taking risks in regard to the creativity of his work. Whether in regard to his style or his message, it changes how writing has been done before and allows for new types of work to be absorbed and studied by the public and thus be expanded upon further.
It is important for us all to read and write. Effective communication skills are crucial in every field. College students often complain about how much reading is required of them. Instead, they should appreciate the fact that they get the opportunity to study these texts and to improve their literacy. They truly are the best people to begin this culture of dynamic literacy in our contemporary society.
