Early Access: What Is Writing Exactly?

A very timely video for me as well -- something I'd (selfishly) love to hear you discuss is memoir writing. I've been considering taking a class or otherwise trying my hand at this -- not for publication so much as for internal exploration and understanding. I'm especially curious to know how to apply some of these ideas, particularly knowing something about where you want the reader to end up, when the topic and material is your own life and experiences. I keep wondering if it's enough to have that destination be, "I want to be better understood" -- is that insufficient, too vague, too general, totally fine, etc.? I don't have a good answer and would love to see you explore this particular form of writing. And maybe that's part of what a class would help answer. I'm also interested in knowing more about what else you'd recommend as resources for writers (I still have my Mom's original copy of The Elements of Style) -- any books about memoir you think are useful?

10 dollar words are interesting, I've always been astounded when someone uses an everyday word in a way that I've never heard before, don't ask me for an example though ;) "Words are chameleons which reflect the colour of their environment" What an amazing and insightful observation, I think I have to pass this on to a few people.

The idea of story telling works across all mediums. I am not a writer but I've watched this 3 times to garner a better understanding. As an artist I've become more interested in the story a painting tells and how it's told. When a painter just copies a photograph or a scene there is no self in the art beyond the technical. It's when you find the object or subject that calls to you, you can build the story around that, emphasizing some elements, de-emphasizing others. It's all in service to the art, anything that doesn't serve is minimized or taken out.

Wow. This was a highly engaging and experience expanding journey into what it might mean to write a word or two crafting them into a sentence that conveys an idea of writing to the reader or listener about not only what it means to write but also what it means to be a writer writing words for firstly one’s self . . . Or . . . = Wonderful! 😊✨🙏🏼💫 ✨😜 (Truly loved this piece 🙏🏼😊)

Great video! Really great for scientific writing too! Particularly loved the “closed today and tomorrow” anecdote! Shrunk and white saved my dissertation!

This was probably your most fun video. Great subject and great use of humor. Figuring out the two points to draw the straight line can be interesting. Adapting LOTR, Jackson's line was plot: get the Ring to the fire, so cutting Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wights made sense, but Tolkien's plot was only a part of a whole universe he created. Those 'detours' aren't off his line; they're what the straight line was drawn through.

This was a banger of a video! Had to pause multiple times to go tell my wife what you said.

I really enjoyed the video (I also particularly enjoyed the SPAM Easter egg at the end 😂). Also I feel you need to check out Daniel Piper on Substack who identifies as a Serious Literary Author (SLA), . I think you'd enjoy his work, that's all I'll say 😅

$10 words are too purple, you say? Fine, I'll give preferential treatment to the $5 words in my lexicon. This video had me LMAO many times, but it also gave me a lot to think about regarding where I want to lead the audience in my own writing. This made me reflect on the stories that have impacted my life, and it gave me a lightbulb moment about how the character(s) perspective gives a story its meaning. I think I intuitively knew that, but you helped articulate it. I look forward to your future writing videos. This was a blast.

Wow I really needed to hear this. I've been struggling with my writing for the last few years. My question to myself has often been: "What's the point?" But I think I've just gotten caught in an existential question rather than "just writing." I always hated that advice but you explained it in a better way than I've seen before. If you ever start teaching classes for lost writers, I'd definitely sign up!

Again, you might read Tarkovsky's "Sculpting in Time". It's not a book about writing per se, but it explains why writing can't be simplified to an "optimal path". The Boy Who Cried wolf has infinite interpretations. The story survives because of those countless interpretations. For me, the question of the story is why does a boy need to lie to get attention? D.H. Lawrence's "Rocking Horse Winner" is another story in the vein. Or, is he not lying? Do the people around him push him to spooking everyone because they don't pay attention to him? Does the boy care if the wolf eats the sheep? Why would he. That's an adult concern. And wouldn't some adults think we should have listened to him because ultimately he was right! Anyway, the story to me is about community. How we fit in. The story could be just because you're wrong a few times doesn't mean you're not wrong in the end. Again, so many ways to read it. Your living space and writing area are very clean and organized. You're very organized. What does that mean? How can you understand the messiness of reality if you don't let it in? ;) Finally, you might watch this video. It too explains why the logic of your video sounds right, but doesn't work in practice. https://youtu.be/uJblcC4lKYw?si=7gw1NNbPnAuGVIwa

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader," is such a banger variation on the myth of the starving artist. Live a truly full life, and—definitionally—trouble and sadness will come. This was great, I could got for a whole continuing series. The second half of the video appeared to circle around the word TASTE, and I'm curious how you identify and cultivate your own taste.

You do own a blazer with elbow patches! Taking notes this time. I'm an awful writer, even when it comes to simple emails and even in my own language. And yet, there's nothing that gives me more pleasure than a witty, well articulated text.

Given your emphasis on communicating a specific idea through writing, I'm guessing you're a plotter, not a pantser? Do you believe meaning can emerge through the act of writing itself, or do you think a writer should set out with a specific idea already in mind? I'm sorry if these questions sound a bit loaded, but I'm genuinely interested in how you feel about this topic. It's something I've struggled with over the years (being a pantser), but when I plot my entire story ahead of time, I feel like the soul gets sucked out of it and I'm left with a kind of paint-by-numbers project. Part of the enjoyment of writing for me is finding out what happens as the story unfolds from under the cursor. That, of course, doesn't necessarily leave much room for the injection of premeditated meaning. Wonderful video, and I'm looking forward to more on writing!

Thank you for another insightful observation. I recalled your episode on fables and how much I liked it. Your asides and silliness were personal and appealing. Dare I say that the comment below about 'not telling the same lie twice' made this experience super entertaining! (I wanted to use the word cromulent so much. Resisted. Sigh.)

This same story was used as an amazing part of one of the episodes of Star Trek deep space nine. There's so many great interactions between Dr Bashir and the exiled spy Garick. When Dr Bashir finishes telling this tale Garick summarizes the story by saying: "don't tell the same lie twice"😁