How to Start Feeling Books Instead of Just Finishing Them

Understanding Descriptions in Literary Fiction
How to Start Feeling Books Instead of Just Finishing Them

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The biggest challenge I faced when I started dabbling in literature was that I found it really hard to imagine what was happening in the story, especially during descriptions. I'd get bored, skip long paragraphs that seemed pointless, only to get confused later when I missed a crucial detail in a scene.

This is one of the main pain points of new readers. Literature, unlike a lot of genre fiction with a heavier focus on plot, lavishes attention on descriptions that come in all shapes and sizes. It pushes your perception to the limit, introducing new sounds, images and sometimes even smells through words alone. But, for an inexperienced reader, the challenge lies in turning dry ink into a portal to another world.

So, in today's letter, we're going to do something a little different. In my recent Session of the Cold Brew tier: The 5 Master Keys to Reading Literature, I shared a lot of insights on this exact topic: how do we turn words into enticing worlds and feelings? And I'd like to share a clip of it in this week's free newsletter with you.

Simply click the thumbnail below (if you're reading this in your inbox) or scroll down (for web users) to watch this free teaser:

That's a taste of the recent Session: The 5 Master Keys To Understanding Difficult Literature. If you’ve been loving the weekly ideas + journal prompts you get for free, you’re already on the path toward deeper reading and lifelong learning. But if you’ve ever wanted structured guidance in a community of like-minded readers, The Sessions are crafted for you.

The Sessions transforms our weekly newsletters into real skills through long-form, in-depth workshops in a supportive online classroom, with community discussions in the comments. On YouTube, I've always struggled to flesh out important gems of reading advice, but with The Sessions, I'm finally able to curate a library of my best research just for you.

Each month brings a fresh 60-minute deep-dive (Theory + Demonstration) based on a community-chosen topic. This is a growing library of lessons that stack on top of each other, allowing your learning to compound over time.

So, for $35/month, the Cold Brew tier gives you full access to The Sessions, a series of monthly workshops and demonstrations that teach you how to apply these lessons beyond the page.

I'm so excited for you to dive into February's Session: The 5 Master Keys To Understanding Difficult Literature. I'll see you in class.

Until next week,
Robin

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