The Magic of Readers

~ livelytwist

There are no awards for readers, at least, none that I know of, but there are awards for writers. Readers buy the book that wins the writer a prize, and yet without readers, there would be no writers.

Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know. ― Alberto Manguel

I am indebted in no small measure to you because if you did not read, I would not write. Yes, I would scribble in my journal, but without the focus, discipline, excellence, and tenacity of the past four years. I would neither research nor stretch myself beyond the world I know. You inspire me to look for the gem in the mundane and tell it as creatively as I know how.

What Lee Hall wrote about the play, I find to be true about writing. “Whether you are a writer or an actor or a stage manager, you are trying to express the complications of life through a shared enterprise . . .  And live performance shares that with an audience in a specific compact: the play is unfinished unless it has an audience, and they are as important as everyone else.”

I view with suspicion, every writer—by writer, I refer to anyone who crafts words intentionally on a platform that another can access—who claims, “I don’t care if anyone reads what I wrote.” The search for significance is a universal pandemic and writing is one way we ask, “Is anyone out there? Can you hear me?”

Sometimes, I have wondered about this business of writing and questioned my destination, but you were there to assuage my vulnerabilities and validate my journey through your comments or private messages. I learnt to count on your consistency as much as you did mine, and I am a better writer because of you.

When I conceive an idea, the meaning is clear to me, but the challenge is to get you to see it. You complement me by filtering my words through your experiences and adding depth to them that I did not recognize. Like the time I wrote a silly story, about two lovers and you showed me that it was about immigration and integration. And you were kind to me. If you thought stories like, Six Is Just A Number, echoed my life, you did not judge me but kept your perspective to yourself.

When members of the London Poetry Society asked Browning to interpret a particularly difficult passage of Sordello, he read it twice, frowned, then admitted, “When I wrote that, God and I knew what I meant, but now God alone knows. ― Ralph Keyes

Vladimir Nabokov wrote, “Readers are not sheep, and not every pen tempts them.” That my words have drawn a few is humbling and empowering, a weight of responsibility I have been proud to own.

The best part of writing at Livelytwist these past few years, was knowing that you were going to read what I wrote and not being disappointed, Sunday after Sunday. I cannot thank you enough for your uncanny generosity.

Thank you.

 

 

 

P.s. I stop blogging on this platform today.

©Timi Yeseibo 2017

Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/cup-book-breakfast-read-plan-2123710/

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45 thoughts on “The Magic of Readers”

  1. Thank you, for all the support you gave to my blog. I truly appreciate it! It can be overwhelming and a little stressful coming up with content that is useful, entertaining and relevant. I too had to stop blogging for a few weeks. I felt it was best to take a break than put out crap. Again, I wish you much success and most importantly…happiness.

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  4. Wow! I am going to missed this blog. When I felt overwhelmed about blogging myself, I had to stopped blogging for about 2 months as I am just resuming now.
    I am seriously going to miss your blog because you inspired me greatly to be a better writer and improved on my craft.
    Hope to see you around though.

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  5. Write with heart and good mind. I appreciate your blog friendly, sometimes wry comments.

    My niece is a romance writer (before a geological engineer. no kiddin’) and doesn’t blog…but has her blog just to showcase her novels.

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    1. Aw, I already miss blogging . . . as life unfolds around me, I am so tempted to blog about it. Writing is in my blood, the platform and style may differ, but it’s in my blood.

      I will miss seeing you here. Bye . . . for now.

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  7. “When I wrote that, God and I knew what I meant, but now God alone knows”. ― Ralph Keyes

    Ralph made me laugh with that quote. Of course I’m still one of those people who say “I don’t care if anyone reads what I wrote.” But at least I’m aware of how I fool myself when I say it now. All that is left is to change.

    Thank you Timi, for four years of the magic of writing.

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    1. I found the quote funny too and real on some level 🙂

      Thank you Ife for sharing pieces of yourself with us, often at short notice. I don’t take it for granted.
      Keep evolving as a writer. I will be watching you shine!

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  8. Awww. I’m sorry you’ll stop blogging. But I’m hoping that you’ll keep writing in some form (hopefully in book form). Thank you for all of the joy you’ve brought us.

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    1. I will keep writing. Only last week I had an idea for a blog post . . . then I remembered I’ve stopped blogging 🙂 So I wrote a short Facebook post instead.

      Thank you too for your consistency here. I appreciate you.

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  10. Awwwwww you are welcome. Thank you for for sharing our moment here too…I will miss livelytwist. I look forward to follow you on your next adventure. Cheers to more!

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    1. Aw Tomi. Even me, I have water coming out of my eyes.

      Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us here. I will miss you, but yes, hope to see you around. 🙂

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  13. Everyone knows that reading is the foundation of learning and education. But there are so many other wonderful things that reading brings to children: comfort and reassurance, confidence and security, relaxation, happiness and fun.

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  14. “…When I wrote that, God and I knew what I meant, but now God alone knows.” 🙂

    Initially I thought it was a Very Late April Prank, then reality dawned and I knew this day will come, but I still hoped that the posts will keep coming for a few more weeks/months.

    They say; “sunset is proof that endings can also be beautiful” and you capped this one with a delightful post.

    You’ll never know how much I’ll miss livelytwist.com.

    All the best in your future endeavors. Thank you and God bless.

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  19. Most writers want readers . . . and lots of them. I understand that. But I also understand writers and painters and woodworkers who don’t crave an audience for their creations.

    As writers (and life sojourners), we should be guided by our desires, not by the expectations of others, in deciding whether and when and HOW to share our words with the world.

    Write on! All the best, Timi.

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  21. Timi I never considered the end of a blog… now i have one. May a nice breeze blow you on to your next “pandemic”. Thanks for shareing.

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  23. Thank you Timi.
    You’ve been a blessing to your readers and your blog have been the icing to my Sundays. So thank you for the years and for letting oit pieces of yourself on every post. Even when it’s a guest post, there is always a reflection of your handiwork.
    Thank you.

    || I view with suspicion, every writer—by writer, I refer to anyone who crafts words intentionally on a platform that another can access—who claims, “I don’t care if anyone reads what I wrote.” || I love this line as sometimes I say write for an audience of one. But that is not entirely true. Though there are stuffs that are for my eyes only, but whenever I publish anything online I expect it to resonate with at least one person. I still do not write for everyone, but if the one person I write for turns out to be everyone, wouldn’t that be magical?

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  24. The saying “we meet to part and we part to meet” takes it course once again.
    But on other ends I want to see more of the latter.
    Bye.

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  26. I can not thank you enough for the inspiration to keep up my blog and for your encouragement and creative ingenuity displayed over this few years. You inspired me as a woman and I can’t say in worlds how livelytwist has contributed to my writing.

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