Why Don't People Read More? And What Can We Do About It?

I recently got a Twitter account (BradleyJCannon) where I stumbled into something that really disturbs me: A huge number of the posts about reading are not even about reading at all. They are about putting off a reading assignment, checking Sparknotes, and absolutely dreading the idea of anything longer than 140 characters.

I don’t know whether high schools and colleges have forced people to read too much or read the wrong books. However, if you think a book takes too long to finish, then you’re not reading the right one. Throw it away and find another one. If the next one doesn’t work for you either then try turning off the television and start over. No one’s attention span should be as short as a Twitter post on a full-time basis.

In the last year, three books/series I read took me longer than the rest. Here's Why:

1. I spent two whole months on Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet, not because it was boring or too complicated, but because the characters crisscrossed in such a way that I wanted to take my time. Durrell’s beautifully disturbing city surely contains so many gems that no one person has ever found them all. At any moment, through the simple reveal of a character under a mask or the loss of a key, Alexandria might introduce or conclude a new perspective on life that you may never again have the privilege to experience. 
2. I also read like a snail through Rick Braggs' All Over But the Shoutin.' Again, this was not because the book was bad, but because it was wonderful. The writing was so crisp and clear that I could hear the Southern drawl in every sentence. Sometimes the sheer placement of a comma was all it took to make me feel at home. I could not bring myself to read faster than the down-to-earth voice would tell it to me in the back of my head.
3. Last, I’m presently halfway through Michael Chabon's The AmazingAdventures of Kavalier and Clay. So far, the book has gone from clever to extraordinary, and it is no wonder that it won a Pulitzer.  However, despite its almost 700 pages and my pile of books to read next, I find myself slowing at the end of each chapter because each one is so magnificent that I can’t help wondering if it was the chapter than earned it the Pulitzer. The fact that it might lose its steam alone has me clinging to all the sweetness as I get to it.

What We Can Do To Make People Read More?

I don’t mean to say all of this just to complain about how people don’t read these days. I would also like to offer four solutions for all of us to abide by.

1. Read more, obviously!
2. Talk about reading more. After all, if you liked a book, then don’t tell the next person you see all about your opinion of the Breaking Bad finale. If you are a writer, then you should consider it part of your job to constantly remind people that the written word is not dead.
3. Stop giving your books away for free. If you want your books to have value, then give them a dollar value. If you must, give away the first few chapters or even the first half of a book instead. (This could actually become a blog post of its own because I know some people disagree with me on this point!) Not only will people think your book is free for a reason, but you are also encouraging others to think that they should be entitled to buy free books all the time. Yes, of course I've heard the argument that some readers will enjoy your free book and then decide to purchase your next book if they ever so happen to hear about it. However, it seems more likely that they will just go on to then next free book they can find. Additionally, there are a lot of poorly written free books out there too, so who’s to say that readers won’t actually become bogged down by a few bad free books and eventually become addicted to something like Netflix instant streaming instead? Speaking of which, can you imagine going to the store and getting free movies just to see if you like them before you have to pay? If not, then don’t sell your books for free either! (Note: There’s an excellent post about this on LinkedIn HERE where hundreds of people have given their opinion.)
4. And last of all, don’t confuse school reading assignments with personal reading. Teachers do not always select books you will like so be sure to remind yourself (and others) to go out and find books that you will actually enjoy. Also, to all you English teachers out there, don’t forget that you job is not only to teach the difference between literally and figuratively, which a few of you have failed at anyway, but also to show people the value of a good book. Make them read something they'll like.

In Conclusion, Never Forget 
to keep reading because books are and will always be

•  a means to really understand your favorite character’s thoughts;
•  an opportunity to see dialogue as it was originally written and not as it was acted out later; 
•  filled with scenery you get to envision something for yourself;
•  a chance to go over something again and again;
•  a tool to improve your own ability to write and communicate; and
•  a steady place to connect with the sole creator of a particular piece of art.     
  

What solutions do you have to encourage people to read more (and where do you weigh in on giving away free books)? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Writing Elements to Appreciate via The Best Creative Nonfiction: Volume 2

Here’s something I appreciated from each story in
The Best Creative Nonfiction: Volume 2.

Anyone should be able to use incorporate these ideas into their personal works whether they’ve read the stories or not.

1. Spire—mixes two creative elements (her asking for help and the puzzles) 
2. Final: Comprehensive, Roughly—uses charts! 
3. Here I Am in Bergdoff Goodman—uses childhood events to dream of a better future 
4. Instead of the Rat Pack—has an unhappy ending, similar yet different characters, and many visual items 
5. The Art of Writing a Story About Walking Across Andorra—focuses on a place, quotes others, incorporates text about the writing process itself 
6. Pursuing the Great Bad Novelist—uses a little-known historic figure and begins where it ends 
7. Moby-Duck—uses multiple perspectives to take an ordinary real event and makes it wonderful through imagination and research 
8. The Egg and I—chooses and explores a controversial subject, and pits two characters against each other 
9. Figurines—has characters with different levels of awareness about an issue 
10. The Writers in the Silos—imagines something impossible, makes it seem real, and reveals the different perspectives of new generations 
11. My First Fairy Tale—explores early childhood memory and shows that children know more than adults often guess 
12. A Sudden Pull Behind the Heart—tries to find meaning in an experience 
13. The Suicide Murder? Of Joseph Kupchik—uses solid researching and reporting skills (It also uses a strikethrough in the title! How cool is that?!) 
14. My Glove—deconstructs an object (and sport) that the author knows well 
15. Teaching the “F” Word—spins something vulgar (if not controversial) so that it seems helpful
16. Hi, I’m Panicky—makes something ordinary terrifying, uses humor, and is pleasantly short 
17. Wednesday, August 23, 2006—has an unusual formation of text and explores simple phrases 
18. Cracking Open—a gritty, shocking tragedy that must have taken serious guts to write; any reader should be able to feel the emotion of this story 
19. Range of Desire—attempts to break a stereotype 
20. The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex—shows pieces of a person’s life from beginning to end, and reveals the positive and negative sides of ambition; makes me want to get to work immediately because time is wasting! 
21. …By Any Other Name—uses a specific event to express a major issue
22. Ceremony—causes us to rethink something we all do 
23. Anti-Aliasing—merges two writing formats (instructional and memoir?)
24. Everything That’s Wrong With Facebook—cheapens one thing and shows that there’s more than what’s seen on the surface of another

    

    www.bradleycannon.com

25.  It Was Nothing—includes many short scenes and fragments 
26. Shrinks Get It Wrong Sometimes— prepares readers for the future stages of life and deals with a personal mistake 
27. George—shows a person change over time 
28. Errands in the Forest—indicates mysteries in the world and, surprisingly, does not try to solve or spoil these things!

What other elements do you appreciate in these stories? What elements do your own stories implement that are similar or different?

When Writer's Block Puts You Down, Get Some Research Done Instead

When writer’s block won't go away, I usually discover that I am not really ready to begin writing in the first place. On these days, it is best for me to take a step back to regroup instead.

The following is a list of research strategies that help get my writing back on track. Originally, I wrote this for myself (when I couldn't focus on what I was supposed to be writing!), but now I feel like sharing, so enjoy!

A few favorite books
(plus an Easter egg)

1. Know Your Geography! A little investigation about a location, no matter how briefly visited, may give you the extra creative boost your story needs. Personally, I prefer starting with maps, so here’s a few places I have looked into.

• Tanzania
• The Matto Grosso
• Loch Ness, Scotland
• And craziest of all, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee city limits, which took me about a million years to find. (Way to go Soddy Daisy officials! Your borders are less available than the boundaries around most South American tribes.)

2. Use Fun Facts to Your Advantage! After all, you must often think of your readers as sharks hungry for inaccurate details, so do not give them anything to chew on. Just as importantly, if you are going to include historical details or facts, try to make them interesting. Sometimes even the most unrelated information, if cleverly placed, can and will keep the most vivacious of readers at bay. Here is a list of the crazier research topics I’ve explored in the past.

• Strategies to better your chances at online sweepstakes
• Exorcism prayers
• Facts about that lady who won millions after burning herself with McDonald’s coffee. (By the way, if you think this case was ridiculous, you may want to read THIS.)
• Tips for radiation prevention that included everything from learning about the pills and radiation counters to physical shielding (metal vs. wood vs. dirt) and radiation tolerance levels (humans vs. mice vs. fruitflies, of which humanity is on the less resistant side).
• Kennedy assassination, Cubam Missle Crisis, and moon landing conspiracies.

Of course, I don’t mean to say that these things in the list were written about in literal scenes, however the basic knowledge has done wonders for my writing. 

3. Don’t Forget to Use Multiple Platforms! In other words, don’t search for all your ideas online. Ask a professional for help. And don’t forget you are a writer, so maybe try reading an honest-to-God book every once in a while too.

• Lately, I have read, The Lost World (Author Conan Doyle’s classic version), The Heart of Darkness, The Lost City of Z, Through the Brazillian Wilderness, and The River of Doubt: TheodoreRoosevelt’s Darkest Journey just because one search became so interesting to me that I got a majorly out of control!
• I also read Stephen King’s novel 11/22/63 about the Kennedy assassination. After all, these books do not always have to be textbook reads. The real point is that they should give you ideas for further questions and more specific research to conduct.

2012 trip to ruins in Belieze!

4. Act Everything Out! Before you turn on your computer, take the time to actually visit relatable places to better imagine what certain situations feel like. If you are writing about being in the woods, then actually get off your butt and go out in the woods. If you’re writing about being in the woods at dark without a flashlight, then go out in the woods after dark and throw your freaking flashlight in a creek! (God, have mercy. Why did I do that?!) I can almost guarantee that you’ll get something from this exercise, so long as you don’t get yourself killed. 

WRITER’S BLOCK? Brainstorm the smells, sounds, colors, space, temperature, and movements in that troublesome scene. https://t.co/dQICA59EIT

— Bradley Cannon (@BradleyJCannon) February 11, 2017

5. Chat With Your Characters! It may sound crazy (because it is!), but actually take the time to ask your characters about their

• favorite color, food, and movies,
• political and religious views,
• first date and family life,
• work experience and school grades,
• and anything else you can think of.

Take each character out to a restaurant and see whether they offer to pay the bill. These are the details your characters need to become a reality.

6. Speak on Behalf of Your Characters! Once you know your characters, try to become them. For example, if carefully and infrequently used, snippets of authentic language can boost a scene too. What better way to actively put yourself into the mindset of your characters? Most frequently, I’ve used:

• Spanish
• German



Visit www.bradleycannon.com
for free stories today!

• And (my favorite) Swahili translations for characters.

7. Don’t Go Anywhere Without Your Toilet Paper! After all, writing is a lot like crapping. If you don’t write something down when it first comes to you, it will only be a lot harder and more painful to get it out in the future. Carry a notepad with you or use your phone to send yourself messages because writers do not get holidays. Plus, I hate to say this (especially to myself!) but if we all took notes from the beginning, then maybe we wouldn’t be stuck with writer’s block in the first place.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what crazy tips help you get out of writer’s block in the comments below!

Coexistence Series Introduction

Many people will no more than hear the phrase ‘alternate reality’ before they instantly resign themselves from reading this. 

(Oops, I swore I wouldn’t start with that . . . Hello?)

Anyways, I urge the rest of you—those of you with slower browsers, who have not yet been able to back out—please do not resign yourselves today. A central purpose of my writing is to convince readers to explore other genres than they might normally pick. For that reason, I can’t think of a more appropriate series to add first to this new website than Coexistence Parts 1-4, which was inspired by a monthly creative writing prompt at CreatorandtheCatalyst.com. 

Unlike vampire and werewolf media, which have been done to death, I find that stories with alternate worlds are far less frequently popular. On top of that, very few alternate reality stories are relatable, and many writers misuse or overcomplicate the power of their subject matter. An exception to that is FOX’s Fringe, which I dotingly reference several times in the story.

Considering the relative lack of popular alternate reality media, I set out to make this story as inviting, ironic, and character based as possible. There are not robots, spaceships, or magicians in this story; only a single door to a world similar to our own.

If you love alternate realities, I’ve made sure to place a few lines that should send you scrambling for a pencil (or a mirror) to chart out what I’ve said. If you don’t care and are only looking for an interesting, emotional story, you can easily breeze over these lines. The tricky parts have no real impact on the characters or plot except to express the narrator’s general disorientation.

What I am trying to say, perhaps effectively or not, is that this story is meant to have a little something for everyone. I’m proud of the conclusion, and the characters became more than I ever expected. What I am trying to say is that I hope you’ll enjoy!

Be sure to let me know what you think of Coexistence Parts 1-4 in the comment section below.

Thanks,

Bradley

'B' Is for Bradley: How to Increase Your Rank on the Internet

What are all the other Bradley Cannons up to in the world? 

While creating a new personal website, writing yet another novel, and performing many other self-absorbed tasks, it occurred to me that I should look into this. Let’s take a quick step back from the ordinary novel updates of this blog to see what I found. 

In the battle of Google versus evil, a quick search pulled up dozens of candidates from all points in life. Overall, three primary rivals seem to have the top spots in my search. 

1. Bradley Cannon, who has a PharmD and is president of a medical facility.
2. Bradley Cannon, who . . . well . . . has a mugshot and was allegedly charged with wanton endangerment, driving while under the influence, and a hit and run in 2012. Allegedly. 
3. Bradley Cannon, who is actually an M2 Bradley tank with a “cannon” mounted on top.

These results surprised me. I always thought ‘Cannon’ was a great last name for a writer, but now I have to struggle against inanimate objects for popularity too?! And a death machine, of all things. Suddenly, the accomplishments of King, Bishop, and Castle seem more incredible than ever. (Granted Castle is a fictional character on ABC, and King is inanimate only as a chess piece).

Anyways, short of going to graduate school or prison, I suppose I should compile a few ways to increase my internet ranking. There are so many of these tips out there, but these four really caught my attention. Hopefully, this will help any faithful readers I may have, though you won’t see me forwarding it to any other Bradleys!

• Make sure you images have appropriate titles.  Honestly, I never even thought about that. Until now, all my photos were titled 338fijosd38.jpg or whatever the computer decided to call them. 
• Use the right keywords. And make sure those keywords are in your post too. 
• Post often, but also post quality material. 
•  Provide links to other popular sites. For example, make sure to check this page out for lots other tips too.

Also, feel free to Google+ me or follow me on Facebook.

Thanks,

Bradley

What rivals does YOUR name face on the Internet? Answer in the comment section below.