Writing is to reading as waking is to sleeping, as giving is to receiving.
The one act presupposes the other act. Together, the two acts are one act, and yet each remains a separate act, at the same time. Literally, to write and read, we must give and receive. If ability in half of a communications pair languishes, so does ability in the other half. To comprehend our perceptions and communicate forcefully, then, we would do well to speak in response to what we hear, and write in response to what we read.