I was recently made aware of a website called AnswerThePublic, which is essentially a database in which you can enter a key word and receive a report based on every phrase or question that the public are currently asking about that word on search engines such as Google. It’s aimed at marketing people but is also a useful resource for anyone wanting ideas for content.
You can only search for a few words before being asked to sign up, so be discerning. I decided to put “writing” in the search bar to see what came up. It produced a neat set of data visualisations plus a spreadsheet of all the questions asked about writing, so I’ve selected four to answer in my own way.
Q1: Can writing be taught?
I decided to Google the question first and found that it is still the centre of a debate among writers of all kinds. Novelist Zoe Heller summed it up when she said that no one disputes that good writing has certain demonstrable rules, principles and techniques, but that the art and craft of writing can certainly be better taught at school. Another novelist, Rivka Galchen, wondered why we are so occupied by the teachability of writing and proposes that great writing often emerges from the “unteachable dark”.
My own experience has been that, beyond the basic tuition I received at school about grammar, précis and punctuation, I was never taught how to write in any creative sense. I had a talent for expressing myself on the page from an early age, and paid attention in English Language classes, so that set me up well – but I was never encouraged to further my education as a writer. That didn’t happen until I earned my first job as a staff writer, and after that I trained on the job.
So my answer to this question is: yes, you can learn the basics of grammar, punctuation, spelling, structure and so on – but the magic ingredient is your writing voice, and I don’t believe that can be taught. It can only be encouraged to emerge through a process of being authentic, trusting what you write, and eventually asking for feedback from friendly readers. If you want to be a creative writer, you need to unlearn or ignore any advice about how to write academic essays or professional reports. That’s only going to get in the way of your expression.
Q2: Can writing help with mental health?
Yes, absolutely. There have been many studies about the beneficial effects of journaling and what’s called “expressive writing” in helping to keep yourself mentally healthy. Expressive writing is a form of writing therapy developed by social psychologist James W Pennebaker in the late 1980s.
He came up with a simple, effective way to help people work through an emotional challenge that involves writing down your deepest emotions and feelings about a particular event for 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days. Research suggests that completing this exercise can increase happiness, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, strengthen the immune system and improve performance at work. Here are the full instructions if you want to try it: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/expressive_writing
I’ve done a version of this exercise on the biggest emotional upheavals of my life, and have always found it helpful not only in processing those emotions but also gaining insights I wouldn’t otherwise have uncovered. These have helped me to reframe the events themselves and come up with more helpful narratives. However, I would also use non-verbal processes such as breathwork to help me work through major emotional events.
Q3: Which writing style is best?
There’s no such thing as “the best style of writing”. There is only your style of writing. And the only way to find that is to start writing and keep writing until you find it. In the work I’ve done with clients, I usually start with challenging their beliefs around seeing themselves as writers, or their ability to write. If you have a voice in your head saying: “I’m not a writer”; or: “My teacher told me I couldn’t write”; or: “I’ll never be as a good a writer as X” – then you’re much less likely to commit to finding your own style.
It’s fine to admire other writers or authors and be inspired by them, but at the end of the day only you can give yourself permission to turn up on the page with a distinctive style. And that needs to be unique to you because no one else can write like you do. In fact, no one else that ever lives will be able to write like you do. So who are you to deprive us of your words?
Q4: When should you write the story of your life?
You can start whenever you like – but if your intention is to publish the story of your life, it’s probably better to wait until you have a chunk of life experience under your belt! I’m not a big fan of celebrities who get book deals to write their stories when they are barely out of their 20s or 30s, but I love reading the life stories of those who have had plenty of lived experience and want to share the lessons they have learned along the way.
However, if you’ve experienced some big life events, it doesn’t matter how old you are – you can always benefit from writing down your story. Revisit it when you’re older to see if the way you want to tell it has changed. That’s certainly what has happened to me in writing about my dad having a stroke when I was 16. My perspective has shifted over the years, and writing the account in different ways has helped with the emotional healing as well.
If you’re interested in my perspective on writing and being a writer, please comment below and I’ll do my best to answer. It also helps me gain clarity and develop my expertise, so you’d be doing me a big service! Thanks in advance.
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