The Science of Writing

 I don’t have to tell you that a lot goes into writing a complete book. I’m here to tell you that it’s much more than you think.

The process of turning thought into physical action is quite complex and beautiful if you think about it. Out of billions of people who think about writing a book (the statistics are pretty high on that) only a small percent start. And of those,  an even smaller percentage actually finish. It's estimated that only 1-2% of people see a book through to publication. Why? Because it's hard. Because it's a lot of work. Because, well... science.  

 

 

I know, shocker! Science and writing!

 

It’s not just about the words! It involves a combination of cognitive processes, linguistic skills, and psychological factors. You probably already know that our emotional states can greatly impact our creative output. Also, you've probably deduced that our speaking skills can influence our voice and writing style. But have you considered the cognitive aspect of it all? Why it sometimes feels downright exhausting to create for hours on end?

 

Because you’re actively engaging various parts of your brain!

So what’s the neuroscience behind the act of writing? Well, first off, writing activates different areas of the brain simultaneously. Brain regions responsible for planning and decision-making, as well as those involved in language processing (the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes), are actively engaged in writing. And no, writing on a digital device and writing on paper is not the same.

 

Physical handwriting activates more complex systems and promotes learning and memory retention. This is why you may have that frustrating what-did-I-write-yesterday conversation with yourself. Or the I’m-getting-too-old-for-this conversation. If this is you, you’re not alone. Many authors, who consider themselves pantsers or plantsers (a mixture of plotters and pantsers) often struggle with recalling the details of their story. Even plotters, who do everything digitally, can struggle with the same thing without first referencing the outline.

 

But don’t fret! Writing things out can help. I don’t mean writing the entire book on paper, though there is some merit to this for some authors, but consider implementing one of the fundamental scientific tools–a journal. More specifically, an Author’s Log. It’s like a scientist’s journal, but instead of experiments and results, you have a log of your “current” status in the writing project and a summary after each day. 

 

There are many ways to set this up but the idea is to keep a bound journal, of your choice (I am partial to the Moleskin Expanded Journal for my Editor's Log), and set up a section for each day.  Here you can track the main points written, any questions or genius ideas that come up, doodle a thought, track time and word count, and what points you should hit during your next writing session. Here are a few examples of what one looks like and different layouts. They are easy to set up and customizable. Worth a try!