Writing Makes You Better
A title like that may sound a tad conceited, like writing “makes you better than everyone else around you”. That’s not the sentiment behind the title at all. Instead, it means that writing makes you (the writer) a better version of yourself.
(I’m a firm believer in Hemingway’s words: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” I strive to be a better man than I was yesterday, and the day before, and so on.)
There is a lot of research that illustrates how writing can make you a better person. Here are a few of my favorite ways:
- Writing makes you happier. Writing is a form of art therapy. You express your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and beliefs onto a piece of paper. You’re no longer bottling them up or ignoring them, so you feel somehow “lighter” for getting them out. Creative and expressive writing can also help to motivate you. Putting the words “I will be more productive” on paper will oddly make you more productive. Call it self-motivation, positive vibes, good energy in the universe—either way, it works!
- Writing makes you grateful. A lot of people keep journals as a way of tracking their daily activities, emotions, and feelings. They’re also a way to set goals and challenges, and have concrete evidence that you achieved those goals. You’ll find yourself more grateful for the good days, as well as for all the progress you’ve made in the past. This also goes for fiction writers. When you write about the obstacles your characters face, it makes you grateful that YOU don’t have to face those same obstacles. Life is suddenly brighter because your story has put it into perspective.
- Writing makes you a more effective communicator. It’s easy to get lazy with your communication: emojis are pictures to convey your sentiment, texting slang and hashtags communicate your thoughts and feelings in fewer words, and you rarely get into deeper conversations over text or chat. But when you write, you HAVE to find the right word to communicate what you’re thinking or feeling. It forces you to think more, to try harder, and to work on your communication skills. Writing makes you more cohesive, coherent, and intelligent.
- Writing is an outlet. Hold all those emotions in, and you’re eventually going to explode. Let them out, and they lose their grip on your mind and heart. Writing gives you a way to let all those emotions—positive and negative—out, clearing room in your psyche and emotions for other thoughts and feelings.
- Writing can help you cope. If you’ve ever written a scene where a character rationalizes something, analyzes a problem, and finds a solution for it, you know how therapeutic it can be to go from A (problem) to Z (solution). You can come to terms with traumatic experiences by writing about them, and analyzing what you have written.
The truth is that writing taps into your psyche, your intellect, and your emotions. It helps you to access the deeper parts of yourself that may never or rarely see light. In the long run, it makes you a better person—better than you were yesterday!
Book Excerpt
The Hunter peered out from behind the silent wagon. Good. No sign of Kellen or Graden. He’d have to keep an ear out for the caravan guards, but he should have plenty of time. The patrol had a lot of ground to cover.
Grunting, he shifted the heavy load on his shoulder and darted out from the row of shelters, hurrying toward the outcropping of boulders he’d chosen specifically for his task. He ducked behind the boulders and hurled his burden to the ground. A grunt and muffled cry came from the bundle, and something squirmed within.
He’s coming to. Good timing.
The Hunter pulled back the canvas, and moonlight shone on Rill’s pale, sweat-soaked face and wide eyes. Blood oozed from a wound on the bald man’s temple. The Hunter hadn’t bothered to be gentle.
“W-What?” Rill’s eyes darted around, and his gaze fell on the Hunter. “What is this?”
The Hunter struck the man hard. “Justice.”
Rill made to cry out, but the Hunter stuffed canvas into his mouth. “Ironic, isn’t it?” His fingers twitched a corner of the thick cloth. “You spend every waking hour stitching up canvas. Fitting that it will serve as your funeral shroud. There was more than enough of it around your area to wrap you up.”
The bald man’s eyes widened, and he mumbled something through the mouthful of fabric.
The Hunter shook his head. “Better you don’t speak. Nothing you say can change what’s coming. Best you die with a bit of dignity. Watcher knows you had little enough while you lived.”
Soulhunger, sensing blood, pounded louder in his mind, and the demon added its eager demands.
“I never understood men like you, knocking around your women.” He squatted on his haunches. “Just doesn’t make sense.”
Rill tried in vain to shout through his gag.
The Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Did you know there is a special hell reserved for your kind? Those who take advantage of the helpless.”
He slipped Soulhunger from its sheath, and held the glinting blade before Rill’s eyes. “You may tell yourself she belongs to you, you can do whatever you want.” He leaned forward, and his voice dropped to a low growl. “Just because you can, that doesn’t mean you should.”
Rill’s eyebrows shot up, and his expression turned pleading.
The Hunter shook his head. “Save your excuses for the Long Keeper. You’ll be with him soon enough.”
With a vicious smile, he drove Soulhunger through the canvas and into the man’s chest. The gag muffled Rill’s scream, but the dagger’s shriek echoed in his head with mind-numbing force. Soulhunger’s gem flared, red light bright in the darkness. The Hunter grunted as a finger of fire etched a line in his chest. Power coursed through him, setting his muscles twitching, flooding him with life, and pushing back the voices in his mind.
Slowly, the brilliance leaking from the gemstone faded to nothing, and Rill’s screams of agony and terror fell silent. The Hunter basked in the stillness of the night. A soothing breeze washed over him, the chill soothing the burning of his new scar. Glorious silence echoed in his head. The voices had been sated. He had peace, for a time.
He straightened and stared down at the bundled corpse. Perhaps the Long Keeper will have mercy on you.
An image flashed through his mind: a pitiful figure huddled at the entrance to Rill’s tent, covered in filthy rags and reeking of blood and coitus. Rill’s desire to punish Gwen had made it easier for the Hunter to slip in, knock the fat bastard out, wrap him in his own canvas, and slip out unnoticed. The man’s absence wouldn’t be discovered until morning. Few would care.
He took a deep breath, relishing the cool scents of the desert at night. He would wait a few minutes until he was certain Graden and Kellen had passed, then he would dispose of the body, bury the canvas, and slip back into camp. Without the voices shrieking and pleading in his mind, he might even be able to catch a few hours of undisturbed sleep before the morning breakfast bell.
Tonight would be a good night.
The Last Bucelarii (Book 3): Gateway to the Past
The Hunter, legendary assassin of Voramis, has a purpose: protect Hailen, the boy he rescued from a demon in Malandria.
He joins a caravan in the hope of safe passage across the Advanat Desert. Yet he cannot outrun his enemies: the Illusionist Cleric on a holy mission to capture him, the bloodthirsty raiders out for blood and gold, and the Abiarazi, demons who masquerade as humans.
Every step north reveals who he was before becoming the Hunter, unlocking the truth about the woman who haunts his memories.
Fans of Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, and Brent Weeks will love the Hunter…
About the Book
Title: The Last Bucelarii (Book 3): Gateway to the Past
Author: Andy Peloquin
Publication Date: March 31st, 2017
Paperback Price: 15.99
Digital Price: 3.99
Pages: 400
ISBN:
Links
Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Gateway-Past-ebook/dp/B06XDKVD47/
Book Launch Event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1264998616922413/
Join my Thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/54027-the-hunter-s-journey-continues
Author Bio
Andy Peloquin: Lover of All Things Dark and Mysterious
I am, first and foremost, a storyteller and an artist–words are my palette. Fantasy is my genre of choice, and I love to explore the darker side of human nature through the filter of fantasy heroes, villains, and everything in between. I’m also a freelance writer, a book lover, and a guy who just loves to meet new people and spend hours talking about my fascination for the worlds I encounter in the pages of fantasy novels.
Fantasy provides us with an escape, a way to forget about our mundane problems and step into worlds where anything is possible. It transcends age, gender, religion, race, or lifestyle–it is our way of believing what cannot be, delving into the unknowable, and discovering hidden truths about ourselves and our world in a brand new way. Fiction at its very best!
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