{"id":8247,"date":"2021-08-12T11:12:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T11:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=8247"},"modified":"2021-08-12T11:12:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T11:12:57","slug":"the-power-of-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/the-power-of-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Of Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An aspiring teacher-turned-author and Reading graduate, Charlotte Coster, has been using her gifts to change lives amid the COVID-19 crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charlotte cannot remember a time when books were not a part of her life \u2013 stories have been an ever-present feature since she learnt to read at an early age. Spending days on end turning pages, it was obvious to those around her that the written word would be a chapter of any future career.<\/p>\n

\"\"And although she had dreams of one day becoming a novelist, Charlotte initially considered teaching as a vocation and enrolled on the University of Reading\u2019s BA Primary Education (QTS) course<\/a>, selecting English as a specialism.<\/p>\n

However, as she entered the final year of her degree, Charlotte\u2019s drive to try her hand as a full-time writer proved too powerful to resist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had always been my dream to be an author \u2013 teaching was a means to this end,\u201d Charlotte explained.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBut realising the classroom was not my vocation when everyone else was finding jobs was daunting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Charlotte still loves working with children and has embarked on a range of roles, including private tutoring and mentoring, to fund her author ambitions.<\/p>\n

Connecting during lockdown<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The mix of skills and experience Charlotte gained from her study put her in a unique position for a project that has ultimately helped thousands during the COVID-19 pandemic. In tandem with re-working her first book, she has been running an online forum \u2013 called The Roaming Reader<\/a> \u2013 that now boasts a huge international following.<\/p>\n

The Roaming Reader \u2013 set up on the Instagram-derived Bookstagram platform \u2013 has become a go-to hub for literature lovers in a world still coming to terms with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been focused on my creative writing since graduating in 2014 and originally wanted to establish a community where I could share my work,\u201d Charlotte shared.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is how I envisaged the forum when it started five years ago, but COVID changed everything \u2013 the site has now expanded to some 16,200 followers and I\u2019m running several book-related activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Boosting mental resilience<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As well as recommending her favourite books, Charlotte has used the digital forum to try and help people cope with the mental challenges of lockdown. Her projects have included writing inspirational poems tailored to individual members and sending postcards to followers with her verses \u2013 all aiming to boost mental resilience.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cLike many people I didn\u2019t realise the lockdowns would last so long, but it was an opportunity to try different initiatives. Early on in the pandemic I challenged myself to write a poem each day.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWords can have real power, and this was why I sent out my work to people who I felt might be feeling a bit low \u2013 it can be really comforting to know that there is somebody who understands, as well as appreciates you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In turn, Charlotte has continually used the views and advice of followers to develop her writing. She has recently taken on a literary agent and her novel \u2013 which has a mental health theme \u2013 is developing rapidly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us on the forum have been swapping writing tips \u2013 this has been useful for me because the writing field can be something of a lonely place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI hope the forum has been as good for others \u2013 particularly those who have not been working during the pandemic and are trying something for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A pivotal experience<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Charlotte highlights how she received steadfast support from her Reading lecturers, despite discounting full-time teaching as a career option. The flexibility of her course meant it remained both relevant and stimulating, while her lecturers helped tailor the programme to her aims \u2013 in particular, arranging a work placement normally held at a school to a different setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to the Education Library Service in Reading,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was quite a small team and I assisted the person who was responsible for the marketing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were events with authors and we were involved with taking books out into communities. It was an experience that stood me in really good stead for both my writing and the setting up of The Roaming Reader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her time at Reading has certainly been pivotal in her life, and Charlotte continues to hold the University in deep affection, returning often to see old friends. She concluded:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was a great four years \u2013 the best. The course was as wonderful as the social scene, and the support throughout it all was outstanding.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhen the last lockdown was eased, Reading was the first place I travelled to. I visited a fellow graduate and we walked through the campus together. This alone probably tells you how much the University \u2013 and the town \u2013 still mean to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about The Roaming Reader<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An aspiring teacher-turned-author and Reading graduate, Charlotte Coster, has been using her gifts to change lives amid the COVID-19 crisis. Charlotte cannot remember a time when books were not a part of her life \u2013 stories have been an ever-present feature since she learnt to read at an early age. Spending days on end turning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":8265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,74,85,21,82,93,34,37,94,87],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power Of Words - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An aspiring teacher-turned-author and Reading graduate, Charlotte Coster, has been using her gifts to change lives amid the COVID-19 crisis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/the-power-of-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Power Of Words - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An aspiring teacher-turned-author and Reading graduate, Charlotte Coster, has been using her gifts to change lives amid the COVID-19 crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/the-power-of-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-12T11:12:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-12T11:12:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/08\/shutterstock_image-27.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/the-power-of-words\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/the-power-of-words\/\",\"name\":\"The Power Of Words - 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