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Category Archives: Psychology
The Benefits of Reading the Old-Fashioned Way; and Splosh!
I found this article about the benefits of reading to children at a young age on Mental Floss a little while ago: April, I think. Anyway I’ve just refound it and it delights me to know that a 2018 study has … Continue reading
Anne Lamott’s Twelve True Things; and Human Libraries
Anne Lamott, whose Bird by Bird helped me immeasurably when I was writing my first novel, Speaking of Love (I was stuck, didn’t know what to write or how, but Lamott’s Bird by Bird dispelled my despair, took my hand and … Continue reading
Posted in Artists, Creativity, Love, Mental Health, Psychology, Things I'd Love to Have Made, Women, Writers, Writing
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A hug a day keeps the doctor away, and Brooklyn’s new Center for Fiction
I read here, the other day, in an article by a South Korean Zen Buddhist monk called Haemin Sunim, that hugs have health benefits. Here he is and here’s part of what he wrote: Anthony Grant, a professor of psychology at … Continue reading
How Doctors use Poetry, and a blue-green stone
Recently I spent a night in hospital and the thing that struck me about the nursing staff, as I watched them admit new patients to the ward, was their infinite kindness; their ability to explain exactly the same things to … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Creativity, Jewellery, Mental Health, Poetry, Psychology, Science
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A new writing resolution; and a new (to me) altruistic way of advertising
I’ve made a new writing resolution: I will not allow the confusing complexity, the sheer size and the constantly changing, shifting nature of a novel’s first draft to eclipse the excitement I felt when its guiding idea first electrified me. I. Will. Not. … Continue reading
Posted in Baby Boomers, Creativity, Fiction, Millenials, Psychology, Rewriting, Things I'd Love to Have Made, Uncategorized, Writing
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Chaos & Creativity; and Beautiful Bookshops
I dislike hate chaos. Very much. Who doesn’t? But it’s an essential state if you want to write fiction. Messiness of the mind is the sine qua non for writers. But, when a piece is finished, it looks so orderly that … Continue reading
Posted in Artists, Bookshops, Creativity, Fiction, Psychology, Writers, Writing
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Auditioning to become a WI Speaker, and ‘Born Baffled: Musings on a Writing Life’
In March I auditioned to become a WI speaker. The WI, you say? Don’t they just make jam, sing Jerusalem and talk a lot? Yes to all three, but no to JUST. There are 6,300 WIs in this country with 220,000 members … Continue reading
Posted in Psychology, Talks, Things I'd Love to Have Made, Titanic, Women, Writers, Writing
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A History of Britain in 21 Women, by Jenni Murray
This is both the thing I’m writing about this month and the thing I’d love to have written, in a parallel universe where time is infinite and all things are possible:What an entirely brilliant and inspiring idea. It begins with … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Psychology, Reviews, Women, Writers
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How dramatic stories change brain chemistry, and NOT the Booker Prize
Good strong stories, as we all know, transport us to other people’s worlds. So, when we’re reading fiction, even though we know the people we’re reading about aren’t real, if the story has a successful dramatic arc we’ll empathise with those imaginary people and … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Literary Prizes, Mind, Psychology, Things I'd Love to Have Made, Writers, Writing
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The UK Referendum, Brexit, and Meike Ziervogel on the importance of listening to other people’s stories
On 1 July Meike Ziervogel, founder and publisher at Peirene Press, published this: Translation is Europe’s only common language. Umberto Eco It’s a thoughtful and thought-provoking piece about the UK referendum, Brexit, and the importance of listening to other people’s … Continue reading
Posted in Artists, Creativity, Equality, Love, Psychology, Storytelling, Things I'd Love to Have Made, Writing
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brainpickings and mindset
I’ve just discovered a website called brainpickings. I was noodling around on the internet, trying to find out something for one of my characters (what it was escapes me now) but I recommend brainpickings for the heart and for the brain. The articles are written by Maria … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Mind, Psychology, Things I'd Love to Have Made
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