I know I said that I will be staying away for the time being but I just couldn't. Here's another piece I wrote.
FYI I welcome criticism of my writing. How else would I improve? So please do leave comments below if you have anything to say at all.
I really like this piece I wrote so I hope you like it too.
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The
dragon hissed as it crept towards the tower in which the princess was trapped.
‘Boom!’ the thunder clapped just moments after lightning lit up the entire
night sky, turning night into day momentarily. The princess was in a perilous
situation. She could be caught by the dragon anytime now. ‘Clang! Clang! Thud!’
the dragon fell to the ground, with a bright red substance oozing out of its
mouth. It took one last look at the world it once dominated before dozing off
into an eternal nap. Prince Charming was here to save the day, once again.
This
is a typical plot in a fairy tale, many of which captured the hearts of many
budding readers, sowing the seeds of interest within them. There are so many
different genres available in any bookstore, from supernatural to biographies,
from fiction to non-fiction to self-help books. Every book exists for a
purpose, and I am a strong believer that none of these genres can ever be
considered a waste of time.
First
of all, fiction books are what children first get acquainted with when they
start learning to read. Barney and friends, Little Miss Sunshine and Mr Greedy
were just some of my many best friends who took me on so many adventures,
teaching me new words along the way. Many fiction books are targeted at young
children, for these fairy tales paint a beautiful world for these children to
play in, for them to grow in, for them to learn in. Try getting a 4-year-old to
read the biography of say, a famous football star. You would have an easier
time getting the child to sleep! There are books suitable for people for all
ages, and there is no use trying to rush the process. I attempted to read
Animal Farm when I was 10, and I am not joking when I say the book managed to
put me to sleep. One of the main reasons why we use fiction books to welcome
young children into the world where words are weaved together into interesting
plots that are able to sustain a child’s interest and are, at the same time, of
suitable length for a child with a short attention span. Hence, how can we say
that reading fiction books are a fool’s errand when they are the ones who
deserve credit for building these impressionable children’s interest in
reading. Without these fiction books as their foundation, I dare say that no
one would ever be interested to read non-fiction.
Even
as we grow older, fiction books are also an important aspect of our lives. Even
now, when I am 16, I still keep the book I read when I was 6. Not only that, I
do take them out to re-read them when I am sick and tired of looking at facts
and figures in my uninspiring textbooks. Fiction books, both fairy tales and
young adult novels, transport me to another world, where shape-shifters exist,
where witches go to school with werewolves, where a fairy and a vampire could
be roommates. I befriended Kylie Galen and Della Tsung from Shadow Falls and
they brought me on adventures I never would have thought even existed,
experienced emotions I thought were long forgotten, and tilted my world, making
me see things from a perspective I never had considered before. Sometimes,
reading fiction books helps to clear my mind and sort out my thoughts. Reading
a genre I have been reading since I was in diapers calms me when I am scared,
soothes me when I am sad and acts as my constant in life when I am confused and
lost. Even as I grow up and experience new things, it comforts me to know that
I can always return to my fiction books to help myself forget about the bad
times, even if it is just for a little while. This is why fiction will always
be deemed as an significant portion of my life.
I
cannot deny the other school of thought, however. As we grow up, the role
fiction plays diminishes. The importance of fiction pales in comparison to
non-fiction, especially when one is preparing for major examinations. Fiction
is like your parents, taking care of all your needs when you are young,
checking in just to make sure you are not doing anything you will regret every
once in a while as you grow older and are supposed to be more sensible. But
non-fiction is just like a super strict teacher. She may be boring, she may be
your most hated person, she may be so saturated with information you don’t even
know where to start, but you know that with her help, you will be able to
become a more holistically developed adult. Similarly, non-fiction feeds you
with all the information you need to tackle your examinations and more. They
feed you with examples of famous people doing what they are good at from all
around the world, different perspectives of social issues, even statistics that
you can use in expository essays like this one (if you remember any, that is).
Reading fiction as a teen nourishes the child in you, reminding you of what you
were like as a child (and these are beautiful memories I would never trade for
anything in the world), but non-fiction opens your mind to many other
perspectives, and digs deeper as you dive in deeper into the sea of knowledge.
Reading ‘Bite of the Mango’ opened my eyes to the suffering of those trapped in
wars. Reading ‘Little Prisoners’ made me appreciate the safe and secure
environment I live in, when so many others are battling ghosts from their
pasts, left behind by those they held closest to their hearts. I thought dealing
with betrayal from my best friends were bad, but I never thought of those
dealing with betrayals from their families. My struggles seem petty in light of
theirs, and I am able to deal with my own ghosts so much better. Non-fiction,
is the key to opening up your doorway to adulthood. The point being, I do not
deny the importance of reading non-fiction as well. They are just as important,
if not more important especially for students.
As a
summary, I would argue with you day and night if you try to impose the idea of
reading fiction being a waste of time on me, but I would do the same if you try
suggesting that non-fiction is completely irrelevant to our lives. I feel that
as with everything else that we do, balance is key. We need inputs from both
fiction and non-fiction in order to have a holistic output. Let’s not lose our
childhood innocence in a box
world where we wake up in a box to get into a box to get to the box where we
work in a box by typing into a box screen before going back home in a box and
switching on the box before we pass out in our box ready for the next box day.
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So that's it! Of course, this is edited by my tutor so yeah... if you're reading this, THANK YOU!
As mentioned, I welcome criticism so please go ahead and smash my writing if you see a reason to. :))
Till the next one~