As Technology Continues to Change the Way We Think About Reading and Writing, What’s Something You Hope Never Changes?: From Our Readers (Comment for a Chance at Publication)
This post announces our latest From Our Readers question: As technology continues to change the way we think about reading and writing, what’s something you hope never changes? Comment for a chance at publication in a future issue of Writer’s Digest.
Our upcoming May/June 2022 issue is focused on tech for writers. WD would love to know what you hope to hold onto as technology changes our world.
Our formal question: As technology continues to change the way we think about reading and writing, what’s something you hope never changes?
I'm a millennial, which means I have the pleasure of having bridged two generations—one who grew up without the internet and one who grew up after. I remember the first time we got a computer (trust me, it was a Big Deal), and the sound of dial-up still haunts my dreams.
What I hope never changes in our ever-changing world is that we keep our libraries alive.
I was always a huge fan of our local library. Growing up in a small town, the library was a converted Christian church. I remember the light from the stained glass windows making color patches across the hardwood floors, the musty smell that floor held when it rained, and even the Thomas the Tank Engine carpet in the kid's zone. The library was a place to go for daily activities in the summer, an afterschool hangout for my pre-teen friends and I (before we got cars and part-time jobs), and when that building was sold so that the library could move to a smaller, newer location, I actually cried.
I renewed my love for the local library in 2020. While I'd had a library card, I'd fallen out of the habit of using it. Our library's app allowed me to borrow books virtually during the lockdown, and then before the library fully opened its doors, cardholders were allowed to check out books from an online system and do a contact-free pickup.
When it became safer for us to return to public spaces, I spent hours perusing the shelves, looking through magazines, and claiming a comfy chair to sit and write. Not only did the library give me a mental escape—what better escape than a good book?—but it gave me a physical one too. It made me remember all those wonderful days at the library as a kid and that I could have that same kind of experience as an adult.
As technology continues to change the way we think about reading and writing, what’s something you hope never changes? Share your answers with us in the comments below for a chance to be published in the May/June 2022 issue of Writer's Digest. Here are the guidelines:
- Provide an answer to the question "As technology continues to change the way we think about reading and writing, what’s something you hope never changes?” in the comments below.
- Answers can be funny, weird, poignant, thought-provoking, entertaining, etc.
- Remember to include your name as you would like it to appear in print.
- Deadline for commenting this time around is February 4, 2022.
- Only comments shared below will be considered for publication, though feel free to share your answers on social media and tag us @WritersDigest
Note on commenting: If you wish to comment on the site, go to Disqus to create a free new account, verify your account on this site below (one-time thing), and then comment away.
Since obtaining her MFA in fiction, Moriah Richard has worked with over 100 authors to help them achieve their publication dreams. As the managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine, she spearheads the world-building column Building Better Worlds, a 2023 Eddie & Ozzie Award winner. She also runs the Flash Fiction February Challenge on the WD blog, encouraging writers to pen one microstory a day over the course of the month and share their work with other participants. As a reader, Moriah is most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook.
Learn more about Moriah on her personal website.
