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I grew up reading a lot of non-fiction in my house. This is not a thread about that.
This is about the importance of reading Fiction.
A Thread -
This is about the importance of reading Fiction.
A Thread -
1// I read a lot of self-help classics well into college. They taught me finance, time management, gave me organisational and leadership skills. Very grateful for this initial training.
2// When I realised my interest in pursuing a career in writing and filmmaking, one of the first advice I received was to start reading a lot of books - Fiction.
3// It was very difficult. I could binge watch films and web shows but could not regularly read fiction - long or short.
4// Lockdown helped me to finally get into the habit of finishing one book a month. And it has been a journey of growth ever since. Both as a creative, and as a human.
5// A film ends in a few hours. A web show over a weekend. Books let you meet people from a different space and time and literally live with them for days (sometimes months)
6// You can sit in your bed and know someone sitting in 19th Century London. In detail. You can be inside their homes, and inside their minds. Amazing way to learn about human behaviour.
7// If you like to travel but don’t read fiction, pick up a travel saga on/before your next trip. You will absorb more, be more present, and people and places of your travel will hold more meaning.
8// Reading good fiction gives you an eye for detail. Good writers will present an act as mundane as going for a walk with amazing detail. The next time you go for a walk, you will find the act so much more interesting. It gives you a new perspective.
9// It makes you kind, compassionate, and empathetic. Good stories don’t show people as heroes and villains. They show them as people. No other medium can give you a chance to live so many lives, through so many characters, that are just like you - human & imperfect.
10// Very popular - it sparks your imagination. You imagine people, places, and events. Being able to visualise is not reserved for a creative few. We are all capable of it. Try!
11// There are so many genres, so many writers, so much of writing! From historical novels to science fiction to mythology to slice-of-life, there is something for everyone! So much to learn through stories - read as per your interests.
12// You will write more. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction that you write, on whatever platform, you will have more creative material to source your vocabulary, your style, and your ideas from :)
13// Personally, I like to give one hour to reading every day. 30 minutes each for fiction and non-fiction. Reading some light hearted story before sleeping is therapeutic. Gives an amazing goodnight’s sleep. 
