This guest post written by Michael Tranter PhD addresses that most difficult aspect of a writer’s life. The man is a brain pro, so I suggest we all pay attention to what he has to say. Below the post, you’ll find information about his new book, A Million Things to Ask a Neuroscientist, as well as info about the gift card giveaway.
It is the dreaded white page that everyone who writes inevitably faces. It could be the first page, or the hundredth, it is never easy getting your ideas out of your head and into a somewhat recognisable idea on the page.
For me, I find that lists and bullet points really help. Like most writers, I usually start with some sort of outline for a chapter, or specific section. This outline will look different for everyone’s style of writing, but how I use the outline is what is important here.
I enter the bullet points onto the page, roughly in order of how I want the idea to flow, and then one by one, I write just a little under each point. Expanding on what I want to explain. Then I move onto the next point. Before I know it, I have a paragraph of somewhat shorthand, but it is enough to get the ball rolling.
If an idea pops into my head spontaneously, that’s ok. I can stop the paragraph I am writing, scroll to the bottom of the page, or approximately where I think it should go, and scribble down the idea in a few sentences. Even if it is riddled with typos from my frantic typing, that is ok, I can always go back and improve it later.
It is not long before I have used those bullet points to create a general outline on the page. It is a lot more detailed than any outline I may have done in preparation, because now I have started to fill in more of the information. From here, it is easy to see how the page starts to take shape, or how the ideas or story is starting to flow. Now it is just a case of filling in the gaps and joining up ideas that I wrote down earlier in a blur of finger tapping and anxious sweating.
It may not be perfect right away. Usually, it is many drafts later when I start to really feel good about how it reads, but I have done it. There is no white space and I have the basic chapter.
Sometimes I will print it off just like that, bring out the old favourite – a red marker – and jot down ideas and improvements in pen, that I will type up later.
This process helped me a lot when writing my current book, explaining how the brain works. It worked particularly well because it contains many facts and precise details, which are perfectly suited for bullet points and scrappy notes along the page. However, I have also used this technique to get me started in many chapters of my fiction writing.
Fiction is a completely different style of writing of course, but these bullet points, or red pen markings, come in handy when I might be struggling for an idea within the dialogue or a new story arc that would make the scene even better. I can write five points within a break in a scene that can fuel my inspiration later down the line. Even if none of them work for that chapter, by continuing this process, there are always a number of good ideas that spill out of your imagination at some point.
By taking the pressure off and allowing yourself to have moments where you are more creative and spontaneous, you open yourself up to relaxed and enjoyable style of writing that inevitably brings out the best in you, and your readers will be able to see it.
Have you ever been standing at the top of a tall building or cliff edge and had a sudden but brief urge to jump? You have no real thought of actually doing it, and you are not depressed, suicidal, or otherwise distressed, but that urge appears nonetheless. As it turns out, neuroscience has a name for such an occurrence, high places phenomenon, sometimes termed the call to the void, and it is actually very normal and common. There are also reports of impulses to jump in front of a train, stick a hand in a fire, or turn a steering wheel into traffic. Thankfully, the person generally doesn’t follow through, and although most accounts of this phenomenon are anecdotal, there is one team of scientists in Florida, USA, who decided to take another look. The research team asked 431 students about such episodes in their personal lives, and a surprising 55% acknowledged that they have experienced them at some stage in their lives.
Science has revealed to us that high place phenomenon is possibly the result of a split-second delay between two opposing brain signals. One signal is based on our survival instinct that notices danger and tells us that we should avoid it, such as falling from a great height, or a train hitting us in the face. Another signal coming from our more logical brain tells us that we are relatively safe where we are, and there is no real threat to our survival. The resulting signals are interpreted by our brain - now somewhat confused, for it to relay this rather bizarre message and we experience the high place phenomenon. So, if you ever have a sudden impulse to jump off the top of Mount Everest, just remember that it is normal, but please don’t do it anyway.
About the Author
Dr Mike Tranter is from the North of England and studied how drugs work in our body, but it wasn’t long before he found his true calling as a neuroscientist. After a PhD in neuroscience, he spent years in research labs all over the world, studying how the brain works. Although, it is his prominent rise as a science communicator, opening up the world of neuroscience to everybody, that he enjoys the most.
Website: https://www.aneurorevolution.com/
Instagram: @TheEnglishScientist
Buy Link: www.aNeuroRevolution.com
Michael Tranter PhD will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
