Method Writing

Lots of writer inspiration in this video on reading and neuroscience, including:

- Reading changes our brains, and who we are
- Different languages trigger different attributes of the brain
- Reading helps the development of empathy

I guess it's not too surprising, given that reading ports us into someone else's head. So it's a kind of direct connection with another person's experience of the world. It's an immersion in that world.

For a writer, this thinking could make you self-conscious! But writing is a kind of reaching out and looking for connection. And this implies an underlying sense of optimism that connection is possible.

Reading and writing are really a daily miracle. We often take these special human abilities for granted. Especially with so much written text now coming at us from all directions.

For me, this short report helps to reenchant the idea of reading and writing.

Really worth a watch.

How reading changes the way your brain works - BBC World Service Reading may feel like something that comes naturally, but it's take...

I’ve made a short writing resource introducing deliberate practice for creative writers.

Deliberate Practice is for writers who want to sharpen their writing craft faster, more effectively.

It's the same technique used in music, sport, art, dance and chess to learn and practise techniques.

If this sounds useful, you’re welcome to download it here:

Powerful craft techniques for high-impact writing Deliberate practice is the strategy used for focused learning in music, sport, art, dance and chess. Here's how it works for writing.

Paul Klee said art doesn’t reproduce what we see - it makes us see.

This has been rattling around in my head, and I've been wondering if he means something similar to "discovery writing".

But I think it's deeper. Not just the usual meaning of finding the plot, or getting to know your characters, but focusing in a new way. understanding anew.

🎨Try an artist experiment: take an everyday object and ""paint"" it with words, to the point where it starts to feel unfamiliar.

🔎Or dig out some earlier writing, and see what you discover about the writer you were, compared with the writer you are now.

It's easy to get intimidated when reading writers we love.

But as Zadie Smith says, you're not meant to be those writers. Give yourself a break!

You have your own unique instincts, viewpoint, passions, voice.

And you may be underappreciating what's unique to you, simply because it's so familiar to you - while adoring the new, curious and exciting in writers you love.

What can you appreciate more about who you are? How can you use this in your writing?

🎥As a young film director, Robert Rodriguez made the most of what he could find on his doorstep - a prison cell, a guitar, a turtle...

🖋️Try compiling a 'Rodriguez list' of unusual things on your doorstep.

💡How can you weave them into a story?

✏️Margaret Atwood's “On Writers And Writing” is the perfect gift for authors looking for inspiration - witty, thought-provoking, with sage and often cautionary insights into the literary world.

Her 'coming of age' author story is hilariously honest, and will chime with many who've sent work to literary mags, done author readings, and felt intimidated by bookish culture.

She also dives deep into the weirdness of writing, and the double nature of the writer as a being.

You finish the book a more sober, less starry-eyed writer, but also filled with awe and the feeling that hurray! You're not alone.

Scribble Quotient - including a lot of further reading - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📌 Read when you need reinspired as a literary writer starting out, or at sea. Wry realism and a reminder of the joy of writing.

⚡ What's your favourite Margaret Atwood book?
⚡What do you look for in a writing craft book?

PS Previously entitled “Negotiating With The Dead: A Writer On Writing”.

"✏️Stephen King's 'On Writing' is one of my favourite craft books - great for if you’re feeling stuck, or just need someone practical and inspiring in your ear.

I'm in awe of how productive and prolific he is, and my copy has a high Scribble Quotient: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The book is split into two halves:

1. A memoir of his writing life, beginnings and how he got his first big break with Carrie, recovery from addiction and serious injury.

2. A complete shift to the Tools section - writing nitty-gritty, lots of examples, advice on good storytelling, rookie no-nos, and obvious yet overlooked straight-up wisdom such as 'get to the interesting bits'.

📌 Read when you need a shot in the arm and mind-meld with a bestselling author who famously writes at least 2,000 words a day.

⚡ What's your favourite writing advice from Stephen King?
⚡What writing books do you most often recommend?"

Why is the point of change so important in writing? ↪️

It's timeless narrative wisdom! It goes by different names in different forms

↪️reversal, peripeteia (scriptwriting)
↪️volta, turn (sonnet)
↪️pivot!

A change, reversal or pivot is a pattern disruption.⚡

Psychologically, our brains associate patterns with safety. 🧠

We're wired to track change, because it means uncertainty, tension, expending energy.

So when things change, we sit up and notice.⚡

Mantel's advising us to focus on moments of transformation - your character flips, the tide turns, expectations are subverted.

That way, you'll keep readers alert, curious, and on their toes.

💡Prompt: Find the reversal in your current scene. Then turn it up a notch.