Mastery and the Life Bibliophilic

There is no end to books. The Library of Congress alone curates over 25 million titles. There is even greater endlessness to blogs. The internet boasts 600 million sites devoted to sharing information, insight, and personal experience. That you’ve found this blog in an ocean of heaving noise is no small feat.

My purpose is simple: train myself and every other serious writer how to master the literary arts. And document the life bibliophilic herein.

Writing everyday won’t lead to mastery. Practicing bad habits only leads to mediocrity. We must read far more than we write. We must experience far more than we recount. Writing thrives as a reaction to the world around us—the worlds at the end of our own fingertips as well as at the end of others’ imaginations.

Conversely, don’t waste your time with inferior literature. Time is against every artist. Restrict your educational pursuits to only the best of any given genre. Pablum steals far more than it provides.

No writer reads enough. I daily lament the failings of my literary piety. But I don’t waste time flagellating myself: there isn’t time for penance in the pursuit of self-mastery. If you want to write well, read.

Then, time permitting, blog it. Welcome.