7 Micro Hacks To Get Better At Literature

I enjoy reading non-fiction rather than reading novels or dramas. There can be two reasons why non-fiction interests me more:

1. I immediately get an idea in non-fiction by reading the brief stories and examples, whereas, in fiction, I cannot hint at what the conclusion will be until I finish it cover to cover.
2. Non-fiction is straightforward. The author gives an example and then elaborates it rather than leaving it to the reader to interpret it.

That can be a reason I became a non-fiction writer. Many times I’ve thought of writing a novel. However, when I start writing, the story comes to an end within the first few pages. 

So, I ended up becoming a short-story writer. I blend my storytelling skills with non-fiction to write these blogs. 

Now, I will not provide a guide on writing a book or blog or do’s and don’ts for English Literature but rather seven micro hacks to get better at Literature. 

Once these habits or activities become a part of your daily routine, you will see a huge improvement over time.

1. Go According To Your Plan Whether You Are In Mood Or Not

When I started writing this blog, I thought I would complete it within a couple of hours. But, a funny thing happened – Writer’s Block.

I started writing this blog at six in the morning. And it was not until evening that I was able to finish the first draft.

I’ve been into this situation many times. The same went for my study routine when I was preparing for UGC-NET. I promised myself to cover a subject in a week, but it went on for several weeks. 

All these years, I’ve understood that the real test of self-discipline is not when you are inspired.

It’s when you are not feeling like working, but you complete your everyday goal somehow. 

The best way to deal with it is to go according to your plan, whether you are in a mood or not. Otherwise, swayed by moods and emotions, you will end up engaging in random activities, and that too will remain unfinished, causing more burden. 

Micro Hack: Write your one goal on a piece of paper every morning and stick it on a wall or just above your desk from where you are reminded of your actual goal throughout the day. 

2. Play With Literary Terms And Devices

When you are bored or don’t feel like studying, avoid reaching your phone. 

Instead, read literary terms and keep yourself up-to-date with the genres, literary forms and latest buzz words in Literature. 

You can use them in writing research papers, poetry, blogs, subjective answers, flaunt your knowledge on social media, offline workshops, conferences, book clubs, etc.  

Micro Hack: Order The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms on Amazon and keep it by your side. As little as spending ten minutes in reading can gauge your understanding of Literature.

3. Read Better And Faster

A long time back, I learned that the habit of reading could benefit my life in a way I could not imagine. I give maximum credit to all my accomplishment in life to the authors and works I have read so far.

If it were not books, I was not teaching to hundreds of students today. The more I read, the better I became. Although the benefits of reading didn’t show immediately, it shaped my perception greatly in the long term. 

 I understood that to achieve more, I had to read more, and that is when I laid my hands on How To Read Better and Faster by Norman Lewis. By learning the techniques and applying them to complete the worksheets provided after each chapter, I improved my skill of reading manifolds.

If you are starting as a reader or if you are the one who wants to go on a challenge of reading 50-70 books a year, you should read Norman Lewis’ How To Read Better And Faster.

Micro Hack: The book has 14 chapters and countless worksheets to practice. You can complete the speed reading course in less than a month by spending 15-30 minutes a day. 

4. Make One Subject Strong

I enjoy Literary Theory than any other subject. It gives my mind food to dwell on. It talks variety of subjects. For example, Theology, History, Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, etc.

You can choose the Literature of a nation you are curious about. Read about the writers and their works. Study their history of Literature, social life, language and how it’s different from India.

In one of my blogs on Jhumpa Lahiri, I discussed how the author was influenced by Italian culture and how she made Italy home because of the language and the writers she read.

You too can choose a couple of subjects and aim to gather more information about them.

Micro Hack: Read one novel or a book a month from the Literature you are interested in. Within a few years, you will be surprised by your knowledge. 

5. Maintain A Diary

I usually spend the first 20 minutes of my mornings writing down what’s going in my head. It can be the thoughts of what happened last night at dinner with my friends or as simple as how I’m going to begin the day. 

Similarly, sometimes to avoid screen time, I use my diary to plot a blog.

Diary writing seems old-fashioned, but it is an important hack for self-reflection. 

It’s your companion, a room to keep your feelings, a mediation practice to let go of unwanted emotions, a compass to keep you in the right direction and much more.

Micro Hack: The best thing about journaling is you can do it anywhere, any time of the day. Even journaling 10-15 minutes every day can ripe benefits in your journey of getting better at Literature. 

6. Watch A Documentary Once A Week

Watching documentaries or movies is one of the effective ways to retain information for a longer span. Literature can be best understood when studying it with a bigger context: social, political, and economic.

Above all, they make complex plots easier to understand. Visual learning has swept off the old teaching methods through documentaries, charts, presentations, images, videos, etc.

I watched over two-hundred documentaries and movies while I was preparing for UGC-NET, and it played a significant role in maximizing my results at UGC-NET in English Literature. The first thing I give to the students who enrol in our batch is the links to all the important documentaries and movies from a competitive exam perspective.

Micro Hack: Make a habit of watching one or two movies every week. It can be based on novels, events or a writer’s life, and you can find them on YouTube, Amazon Prime and Netflix.  

7. Start A Mini-Blog

When it comes to experiencing the essence of Literature, turning yourself into a writer or a poet can be a great idea. 

When you explore yourself as a writer, Literature starts making sense. You will force yourself to think of ideas, struggle through writer’s block and play with words, sentence structure and grammar.

Maybe you will get published someday, or your tweets and Instagram feeds go viral (like the Canadian poet Rupi Kaur, author of Milk and Honey).

You never know what has life to unfold. But to see the magic happen, you may have to start trying new activities and hobbies (In the final year of my graduation, my batchmate found interest in kick-boxing. Six months forward, and he became national champion.)

Micro Hack: Create a new page on Instagram or a profile on Twitter. Write poems, mini-blogs, quotes, book reviews, etc. Also, make sure that you spend twice your time reading books than writing because reading refines your thoughts and writing.