Reader Response to "Letter to a Young Writer" by Richard Bausch

The first thing is, I loved this so much for so many different reasons. The first reason was how it was set up. I really liked the way he set it up as a list of commandments and I found myself writing all of the commandments down as I was reading along and nodding my head in agreement. 

The first commandment struck me in a profound way and I think it's because so  many people these days that take literary courses are so set on reading a text - or piece of fiction - as a literary student. I simply enjoy reading for the sake of reading. And I admire so much the fact that he said to swallow and ingest what you are reading. 

Going through all of the commandments, and all of the advice and even the anecdotes that he gives, I love that he says to not let writing get in the way of life. To live your life and keep writing but to remember the important things as well. 

My favorite would be the tenth commandment where he says, "Be wary of all general advice" including his own. I thought that was striking in a way. That only you know what you want to write and what you dream of writing. Make it yours and continue to allow yourself to grow as a writer, reader, and as a human being.