robcasting

Rob Kerns

ECI 541

21 January 2012

Evolution of Reading and Writing

“Love of the written word,” is a term I received from my high school English teacher Cliff Biggers. At the time I thought he was out of his mind. Today I hold his words in a entirely different context. The road is complex, from my early life where I originally thought that reading was a chore, to now when I enjoy reading immensely. Writing role of writing in my life seems to have stayed the same; as a laborious chore that must be endured as a means to an end.

I am not sure when I actually began to learn to read. Like most children I am sure it began for the most part when I was in the 1^st grade. However, where I learned the basics of reading in the classroom I think it is from watching shows like The Letter People and The Electric Company. From these programs I learned the rules of words and began to know how to read words that were not presented to me in the classroom.

Growing up I read what little I could endure. Meaning I only read what I absolutely had to. In the 4^th Grade we had this project where we had to this series of book reports to move Snoopy across this gigantic window to his house. For each book report you read you moved Snoopy one step closer. At the end of the year I had moved Snoopy only about half of the way to his house. The only person in the class I remember getting Snoopy to his house was Renae Meltzer. She is a real estate lawyer in Miami, Fla., now. The books I read were primarily Judy Blume and Encyclopedia Brown. They were not very big and I could get through one of them over the course of a couple of nights reading before bed.

Little did I know that this habit of reading a few pages before bed was the beginning of a habit that I would carry with me through my life. It takes me much longer to go sleep if I am unable to read a couple of pages of something. My habit of reading something easily digestible continued through my school early years. Normally I would do an activity out of Games magazine or read a Marvel comic book.

With as with most young boys I was willing to do whatever it took to get the attention of a girl. It was the influence of one such girl that got me reading more. I met a girl that I became quite smitten with and she had a love for Stephen King books. I saw this as an opportunity to forward a conversation with her.

So I picked up the smallest King book I could find, Carrie I believe, and read it so I could have a conversation piece. Much to my surprise I enjoyed the book and bought another one of his tales. Before I knew it I had moved from his smaller books and was trying to find any opportunity to read a couple of pages of The Stand and It. Where I have not read many of King’s recent releases it was his books that got me reading.

My love of reading biographies stems from accidently reading a few pages of the Jim Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive. Reading the actual events of a rock and roll legend captured me. Where I am told that the book contains many inaccuracies, it was this book that moved me into my primary book of choice to this day. Currently I am reading Ben Franklin’s autobiography and enjoying every page.

Where reading is a love that had grown with my life writing is a love that has not grown as much. This is quite humorous as writing was the means of my paycheck for most of my time in The Navy. It is through the written word that I learned a trade that I made a career out of.

When I decided to go back to school and get a degree I realized, quite quickly, that my writing skills were lacking. When I took English 101 and 102 I found myself editing, reediting and editing again many of the things I wrote for class. It was a hard lesson but I learned how to write a term paper.

Then I found myself in the Navy’s journalism school. Where I went there to learn radio broadcasting, the Navy had other plans. They wanted me to learn how to write news and feature articles. Where the design of a story is very formulaic there is quite a bit that goes into the actual writing of the story. Like anything worth doing it took practice and time to develop the skill. Over time I was able to develop this muscle enough that I became the editor of one of the Navy’s leading monthly publications. The Navy Reservist.

During this three year period writing and editing became my everyday life. Writing stories about the goings on in the Navy Reserve as well as assigning and editing stories from around the fleet. Where I have never considered myself a good writer I quickly discovered there were many who were much worse than me. This was a job with many challenges but the fruits of my labor were seen at the end of every month with the publication of the 32 pages, plus cover, magazine.

The highlight of the time as a writer was when I covered a naturalization ceremony for Sailors becoming U.S. citizens. Seeing the expressions of emotion of those Sailors who were becoming citizens was overwhelming. Writing the story was effortless and there was little editing that went into it.

Writing to me is a job. I wish I was able to sit down and draw words from my mind. When I read the articles written in newspapers I in awe at their style. Reading authors like Hunter Thompson, Earnest Hemmingway and Jack Kerouac who are able to weave such a tapestry of words amazes me. I should note that none of these men lived happy lives and all three killed themselves through alcohol and for the most part took their own lives, their words that they left us live on.

When I write I am working. I am not sure if it was the same for them. Perhaps it was their gift? Unfortunately it is not mine. I would love to see the original drafts of James Woodward’s pieces to see how hard it was for him to develop his stories and know how hard it was for him to develop as a writer.

Looking at my evolution as a reader and writer it has not been overnight. It would seem that I needed some catalyst to move me into the next phase of reading or writing. Whether it was a desire to talk to a girl or the want of a paycheck, something had to push me along. I do enjoy reading and the Christmas gift of a Kindle Fire will keep me in books for quite a long time. Writing continues to be challenge. I am able to work the keys occasionally to add to my blog but it is not as effortless as I would like. To end with a quote I will give the words of the Baseball Hall of Famer, Johnny Bench, “Practice, practice, practice.”