Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45961
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As a dyslexic, I understand the general aversion to reading. As someone who loves storytelling, I nevertheless want to be exposed to stories.

There are some life-hacks for the reading adverse that want to write.

## Get the audiobook

Not only does an audiobook outsource the reading to someone else, but it is something you can listen to while travelling to work, sitting on the bus, or whatever.

### Read along with the audiobook

There is a second use of audiobooks that I do not see discussed much - **read-alongs**. As a kid, I loved read-along storybooks. I must have listened to "Autobots Lightning Strike" so often it must have driven my mother spare. To this day, I can still replay the whole thing in my head.

Reading along with the narrator takes the pressure off. If you want to just get used to the pleasure of holding a book and get a feel for the flow of words on a page, this is ideal.

### Record audiobooks

There are sites you can go on (I'll let you find them yourself) where you can get paid to read and record audiobooks. If you are the sort of person for whom money is a great motivator then this one is for you.

## Find a series to be passionate about

For me as a kid, it was robots and adventure stories. My mum gave me the Enid Blyton book, "The boy next door" and I was soon reading every one of her books as fast as my mum could buy them for me. These days, I find those books boring and repetitive but that's just because my tastes have changed.

I know of other dyslexics who never read at all. That is until Harry Potter hit the shops. Suddenly it did not matter how exhausting it was to read, they wanted to find out what happened next.

When your passion for a series, genre, or author gets strong enough, nothing will stop you getting hold of more and just reading the heck out of them. Terry Pratchett's books are great for this.

There is a reason us nerds and geeks tend to be experts - we consume everything there is to find on our favourite subjects. Don't like fiction? Try travel guides, technical manuals, science textbooks, biographies - whatever floats your boat. You are not likely to learn story writing so fast but you will pick up a thing or two about tone and pacing.

## Join a writer's group

No matter how much you generally avoid writing, the quid quo pro of reading a little of a person's work and offering feedback in return for a load of feedback on your work forces you to read but in a fun setting with people that you can get along with.

As the reading is bite-sized and you take a break to discuss it afterwards it hardly feels like reading at all.

## Learn about the theory of storytelling

There are some amazing videos on youtube that dig into the mechanics and theory of storytelling (film, TV, and books). Terms to search "the hero's journey", "the three-act structure" (also "the five-act structure" and "seven-act structure" too), and storytelling tropes.

This will turn all your Netflix binges into storyteller training. Although, I have to warn you that learning the patterns of storytelling will spoil some of the more formulaic series.

I spend a fair amount of time deconstructing the story pace in my favourite Netflix shows. I write humour and so tend to try and work out why a joke is funny. That is not for everyone but it works for me.

## Make your peace with reading

Sooner or later, if you are serious about writing, you will have to make a sort of begrudging peace with reading. Some dyslexics I know invest in coloured overlays which help calm the text down and make it easier to read. Others read exclusively on their phones (don't ask me why - it sounds terrible to me).

What helps is that the more you read, the more you enjoy reading and the easier it gets. Even if you are dyslexic or for some other reason a weak reader. Sure, you start off at a disadvantage but that only means you need a bit more effort to catch up. Read books you **love** and you will hardly notice you are doing it.

## Watch and read

Some of the better adaptations are so much more enjoyable to read after you have seen the series. Good Omens is a perfect example of that. Watch it, read it, and then watch it again. It is amazing.

Original score: 71