Written 10/10/2024
Hello Dear Readers,
Over the last few months, I’ve noticed that my wife’s skill at analyzing literature has dramatically improved. After more than a decade of reading only non-fiction, she unexpectedly ventured into fiction again. Then, last year, she suddenly began to learn how to analyze literature. Along the way, she also started to learn how to write a novel, hoping she could reverse engineer works of literature one day.
She started rereading classics she read as a teen. As people gain more knowledge and experience, their impressions of novels change drastically. She told me that her reading experience of those novels had shifted. My wife found that experience exciting. She also picked up other classics she had somehow missed reading while young. She talked about the books she had read with me. I’ve read some of her books in the past, so I shared my thoughts with her. We compared our experiences with the stories.
Whenever something in a book piqued her interest, she researches the topic. All her findings are organized in her digital research notebook. She told me that writing about what she found out and organizing notes were the ways she retained her acquired knowledge. The method works for her.
She still asks me questions about other books I’ve read, but she tries to understand my interpretations of literature. Our interpretations are often different since we have different knowledge and experience sets. She asked me why I interpret things that way when we have different interpretations. She also finds our differences interesting. I guess anything seems to make her curious. Her curiosity never seems to wane.
Meanwhile, I am writing a novella by taking Brandon Sanderson’s writing courses on YouTube. I’m already in several classes. It amazes me that we can learn anything from YouTube. He formally learned at University, so he gave us many valuable tips on writing. I always thought Sanderson was extremely good at developing his characters. I adore all the characters he has in the Stormlight Archives series. The course intends for people to write a novella by the time you finish the course. My wife told me she would take the course after completing the U.S. citizenship exam.
I’ve already started working on my novel. My wife is learning literature criticism while she does all her research on books she is reading, taking note of any techniques she finds interesting in them. If I ever complete writing a story draft, I will ask my wife to help me improve by adding her thoughts. With her growing expertise in literature analysis, she can help me turn it into something truly worthwhile.