Try Writing a Passionate Opinion Piece One of my biggest challenges in writing has been finding my voice. For years I struggled to even understand what was meant by “voice.” If I wrote marvelous, well-crafted sentences, wasn’t that enough? Well, no, voice matters, and it’s something that does not come easily to most. Voice is the indistinguishable […]
If you’ve been hesitant to write fiction or nonfiction because it might negatively portray a loved one, I urge you to examine your motivations. If you’re so angry you need to vent “on paper,” then vent your little heart out, but don’t publish what pours out. Write furiously, then set those pages on fire, literally. Doing so sends psychically transports the blame to the perpetrator—and sets you free.
If you’ve been stalled, or blocked, or wondering if your scribblings amount to more than a hill of beans—when the whole world is on fire—please let me be the one to tell you that they do. If you love writing, keep at it. What you produce doesn’t even matter. It’s the writing practice that will keep you sane.
This “novel virus” reaffirmed that my life won’t feel sufficiently meaningful again until I develop a renewed sense of purpose. Writing has always provided that for me, and I’d discarded my writing practice as if it were an empty, battered suitcase at the end of a journey. Hell, I’d thrown it over a cliff.
Mindfully Meditate, then Write Thanks to Coronavirus, our reptilian brains are scanning for danger and sensing it everywhere. The resultant, almost constant flight-or-fight responses likely cause muscle tension, headaches, upset stomachs, racing heartbeats, shallow breathing, and difficulty concentrating long enough to read, let alone write. We need to counteract anxiety by relaxing, but bingewatching and […]
Your reptilian brain is in overdrive, as are your flight or fight hormones, which make it a challenge for your cortex to function at its peak capacity.
All writers are creative, right? They are if they meet certain criteria. But what is that criteria? That’s a question researcher Jordanous Keller wanted to answer. So he conducted an empirical study and analysis of language commonly used to talk or write about creativity[1]. Using tools from natural language processing and statistical analysis, he and […]
One of the hallmarks of genius is an ability to spot connections between seemingly disparate things, and then use your discovery to create something original. One of the most potent examples of how your brain births, supports, sustains, and fulfills creative ideas comes from the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the mastermind who brought the highly […]
A study published in the International Journal of Business Administration in May, 2016, found that what students read in college directly effects the level of writing they achieve. In fact, researchers found that reading content and frequency may exert more significant impacts on students’ writing ability than writing instruction and writing frequency. Students who read […]
A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in April confirmed that yoga and a form of meditation known as Kirtan Kriya improved brain functioning by increasing connectivity, improving memory, and decreasing mood aberration. See an excerpt where I discuss Kirtan Kriya in Fire Up Your Writing Brain below. Over the course of twelve […]
Fire Up Your Writing Brain 