i have received many inquiries on how to succeed in a country where people do not read books. first, let us define what success means for you. if it means the ability to write well, with technical expertise and the gift to transmute ideas into emotions and experience on the page, then maybe the following would help: 1. If you write prose, master grammar and the elements of style. That is also the title of the iconic book of strunk and white. 2. Read the classics. I do not mean just the Western classics, but also the Eastern ones. And as important these days, the Asian and Southeast Asian writings, focusing on the Philippines. As TS Eliot said in Tradition and the Individual Talent, we stand on the bones of our ancestors not to bury them deeper, but for us to reach loftier heights. In short, you should know what has been written, build on it to enrich your writing, and scope around for some new things (Ezra Pound's "make it new") that can be the focus and fulcrum of your ...