The Art of Writing, Part 1
What is it about the written word that so fascinates some of us? (I've asked this before, but it's still preying on my mind.)

I can read for hours on end, but to hear someone read the same thing to me--even a very good reader or speaker--often leaves me cold. What is it, too, that is so much more appealing about reading something printed out on paper--even the slick paper of a magazine--than to read it on-line?

And what is it that leaves some people--even if they've read this far--shaking their heads in wonder because they just can't imagine finding reading entertaining? Such people are by no means necessarily low-brow or educationally deficient. I have friends who are college grads who are very intelligent, but just don't care for reading.

Back to my first question, though: what is it about reading? And why do some authors capture us while others leave us not just cold but depressed because we "wasted" time trying to read them? For instance, I can read almost anything by CS Lewis and his wordcraft just fascinates me. Same with Mark Twain, Louis L'Amour and several others. But some writers, who I will not insult by mentioning here, I couldn't slog through their report on the Super Bowl even if my favorite team had won it. The words are all spelled right, the grammar is passable, but that special something just isn't there for me.

Why?

I suppose, if I could figure that out and master it, I could probably charge people to read this blog and they'd be willing to pay. At least, the other writers would.