Writers block can prove challenging but it isn’t hard to beat when you look at the bigger picture. Authors don’t just write they read too. In fact reading is fundamental to the creative process. Yet it’s a phenomenon of our times that whilst we live in a connected world with more access to the written word than ever before many people are finding that reading fiction has become something of a luxury! And that includes authors!

The greatest books ever written are now a mere click away, and yet at the end of the day, it seems that instead of reaching for a good read we find ourselves increasingly drawn to our mobile phones! News updates, notifications from social media sites, those increasingly annoying alert sounds. No wonder we’ve coined the phrase digital overload! But for a fiction author not to read fiction it is tantamount to committing literary hara-kiri!

Reading fiction is a great way to hone focus and for many authors, a lack of focus goes hand in hand with what’s commonly referred to as Writers Block. The reason is simple. We are all without exception the sum of our experiences and for authors who rely on a constant stream of creative thoughts reading fiction is a sure-fire way to tap into rich new veins of conscious deliberation. The process by which the seed of a story takes hold and grows through stimulus and reflection. Without conscious deliberation, we simply skim the surface of what vies for our attention.

Constant speed-reading and jumping from one hyperlink to the next have subconsciously trained our minds to absorb information superficially. If we want to sharpen our attention and access the focus needed for creative thinking, we have to disconnect and prioritize the depth of thinking books offer over digital distractions and the science behind conscious deliberation shouldn’t be doubted.

Reading should be a deliberate, immersive experience that magnifies how we think and for authors who want to feed the well of their creativity this means setting aside protected reading time which becomes sacrosanct.