JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you.
JOE: I took off a few days to recharge my batteries.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good idea. What prompted that?
JOE: My friend Gerry keeps suggesting it. Sometimes I listen to him.
CALLIOPE: How do you get recharged?
JOE: First by turning off my computer. Sometimes too much input keeps me from being able to think.
CALLIOPE: Good. What else?
JOE: Mostly reading. I read two novels over the past few days, James Patterson's Swimsuit and Erich Segal's Acts of Faith.
CALLIOPE: How did they help you recharge?
JOE: Several ways. Reading helps me think from the perspective of the reader and imagine what it would be like for someone to read what I write.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Yes. I also absorb ways to describe events and bring characters to life. I don't try to copy other writers but I think their styles meld with my own and makes my writing richer.
CALLIOPE: Very wise.
JOE: Thank you. Talk with you tomorrow.