It is vital when reading and writing to feel you have FREEDOM. Freedom to connect with the words on the page and find your own meaning from them. Freedom to support the author and read more of his or her works. Freedom to change the path you have chosen for the characters you are writing and set out on a new path that makes more sense based on the plot you have decided upon. Freedom to try out different genres to see which one fits your writing style or reading preferences best. Freedom to muddle through a book only to find that the ending was surprisingly satisfying. Freedom to be head over heels in love with a book only to find the ending unsatisfying. Freedom to spend some days thinking about your writing rather than actually doing it. Freedom to spend some days thinking about what you read the day (or week, or month, or year, etc.) before rather than actually reading anything new. Freedom to stick to one genre. Freedom to defeat writer’s block or reader’s block by finding the one word or book that fills the void you’ve been feeling. Freedom to write or read to your heart’s content.

You can write a novel-in-verse or a short story that chronicles the top news headline. You can read a biography or a work of historical fiction. You are at liberty to make revisions, additions, and concessions within your writing or your reading preferences until they live up to your satisfaction.

Freedom is an awesome thing. Don’t take it for granted. What types of freedom do you feel when reading and writing? How can you provide yourself with more of that awesome feeling?