Writing and Reading

I know that most of seminary life is writing and reading (not necessarily in that order), but I feel that I need to do a lot more of both of these things. I do read quite a lot and I think I'm way better at that than I am writing. But I need to start reading differently. This doesn't me reading faster or anything like that. I need to start reading and taking notes. I should keep a record of what I have read, and what the main ideas and points of these things are. This means that I have to get way more organized and I have to get way more serious about my reading. So with this being said, I would love for you all to suggest some sources for me, although it might take awhile for me to get to it. I would love suggestion of novels, philosophy, theology, or anything else that is particularly striking.

Now to the writing. I know how to make my letters and I most of the time I can figure out how to spell. This is not what I mean by writing. Instead, I need to spend more time writing down my thoughts. I might start keeping a journal, but I'm not sure that is the kind of writing I want to do. I want to take the thoughts in my head and formulate them into words on paper. I would like people to be able to read what I write and understand it. I want my readers to feel the urgency and passion, or to feel the overall tone of the work. I don't just mean that I want to write theological treatise, but I also want to write poetry and fiction. I want to communicate struggles and joys in life through various genre of writing. So with that being said, one of the things that will help me is to just write more. Thus, I'm hoping to write more often here. I know I say that all the time and it might not happen, but it is my goal.

I want to be able to read and write well because my goal and calling that has been reaffirmed over and over again lately is to teach. I feel called to be a professor. I'm very comfortable with the idea of teaching. I'm not as comfortable about doing the research and writing involved in obtaining my goal. Therefore, I would love it if you, my friends, helped to encourage and challenge me in this endeavor. Ask me to explain things and encourage me to take notes when I read. Maybe even ask to see something that I have written lately, although I'm not a big fan of showing people what I write. I'm sure this comes from a lack of confidence, so doing it more may help. I also need critiques and corrections, both in terms of content and syntax. Thanks.

Peace,
mark