The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, And Neuroscience

  In Part Two of this special edition of the show we call “The Writer’s Brain,” a guest series with neuroscientist Michael Grybko, we dig into a phenomenon known as “impostor syndrome,” an experience many writers struggle with. The Experience Known as “Impostor Syndrome” The experience known as “impostor syndrome” has been recognized in over 70% of the population across a wide range of demographics. Everyone from bestselling authors, to A-list celebrities, and even genius-level scientists, have all admitted to feeling a kind of isolation from not wanting to be outed as a “fraud,” even though they’re far from it. And it’s not just limited to high-achievers; it’s been found in men and women across a wide variety of groups, including those about to launch a new creative project or career, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, and many others. Across all demographics, success tends to create an even deeper sense of the impostor experience, and although not considered a clinical psychological syndrome, the e

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Writer’s Brain,” a guest series with neuroscientist Michael Grybko, and in this episode we dig into a phenomenon known as “impostor syndrome,” an experience many writers struggle with. The Experience Known as “Impostor Syndrome” The experience known as “impostor syndrome” has been recognized in over 70% of the population across a wide range of demographics. Everyone from bestselling authors, to A-list celebrities, and even genius-level scientists, have all admitted to feeling a kind of isolation from not wanting to be outed as a “fraud,” even though they’re far from it. And it’s not just limited to high-achievers; it’s been found in men and women across a wide variety of groups, including those about to launch a new creative project or career, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, and many others. Across all demographics, success tends to create an even deeper sense of the impostor experience, and although not considered a clinical psycholog

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Best of the Writer s Brain,” a series neuroscientist Michael Grybko and I started in 2015 where I enlisted his help to give us a tour of the inner workings of the writer’s process.  Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By   Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! This is Part Five of the series and a rebroadcast of the Fact vs. Fiction edition of “The Writer’s Brain,” in which we discuss fake news, how it works, why it’s damaging, and how to combat it. As we wrap up our Summer hiatus before the upcoming season, I thought I d put all of these enlightening episodes in one place … The Writer Files is a nonpartisan show in its attempt to explore all facets of the writing life, and in the last few months you can’t seem to throw a rock without hitting a social media article about fake news or alternative facts — especially on Twitter and Fac

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Best of the Writer’s Brain,” a series neuroscientist Michael Grybko and I started in 2015 where I enlisted his help to give us a tour of the inner workings of the writer’s process. Q: Have you ever wondered why writer’s block is such a widely disputed malady, if it’s curable, or even real? As we wrap up our Summer hiatus before the upcoming season, I thought I d put all of these enlightening episodes in one place … In Part Four of the series I invited my friend, research scientist Michael Grybko — of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington — back on the show to help me pinpoint some possible origins and solutions to an ailment known only to writers. If you missed the first three episodes of The Best of ‘The Writer s Brain’ you can find them on writerfiles.fm, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. In this file Michael Grybko and I discuss: Why writers argue about the definition of writer’s block Wh

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Best of the Writer s Brain,” a series neuroscientist Michael Grybko and I started in 2015 where I enlisted his help to give us a tour of the inner workings of the writer’s process. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By   Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Q: Have you ever wondered why storytelling is such an omnipresent theme of human life? As we take a short Summer hiatus to book new guests for the upcoming season, I thought I d put all of these enlightening episodes in one place … In Part Three of the series I invited my friend, research scientist Michael Grybko — of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington — back on the show to help me define storytelling from a scientific standpoint. If you missed the first two episodes of The Best of ‘The Writer s Brain’ you can find them on writerfiles.fm, Apple Podcas

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Best of the Writer s Brain,” a series neuroscientist Michael Grybko and I started in 2015 where I enlisted his help to give us a tour of the inner workings of the writer’s process. Q: Have you ever wondered how great writing creates an emotional response in readers? As we take a short Summer hiatus to book new guests for the upcoming season, I thought I d put all of these enlightening episodes in one place … In Part Two of the series I invited my friend, research scientist Michael Grybko — of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington — back on the show to help me define empathy from a scientific standpoint and shed light on the darker corners of how writers can tap into the hopes, dreams, and fears of readers. If you missed The Best of ‘The Writer s Brain’ Part One: Creativity you can find it on writerfiles.fm, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. In this file Michael Grybko and I discuss: How scien

Welcome back to a special edition of The Writer Files called “The Best of the Writer s Brain,” a series neuroscientist Michael Grybko and I started in 2015 where I enlisted his help to give us a tour of the inner workings of the writer’s process. Q: Have you ever wondered how prolific writers summon vast stores of creativity without breaking a sweat? As we take a short Summer hiatus to book new guests for the upcoming season, I thought I d put all of these enlightening episodes in one place, starting here … In Part One of the series I invited my friend, research scientist Michael Grybko — of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington — to come on the show and help pinpoint where exactly in the brain creativity lives. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In this file Michael Grybko and I discuss: How science is expanding our definition of creativity Why memory plays such a big part in writing Where creative ideas come from

The iconic, international bestselling author of 14 novels, including the era-defining Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland, paid a visit to the show to rap with me about his latest collection, his strange ritual for starting a new book, and the timeless difficulties of getting published. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today!Mr. Coupland started his career in journalism before rising to prominence after his acclaimed, bestselling debut in 1991. Since Generation X he has become an internationally recognized visual artist, designer, and author of 14 novels, two short story collections, a dozen nonfiction books, and scripts for the stage, TV, and film. In addition to his many contributions to traditional and online publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, and Vice Doug has written and performed for England’s Royal Shakespeare Comp

In Part Two of this file, the award-winning New York Times bestselling author, investigative journalist, and anthropologist, Scott Carney, returned to talk about the dangers of putting yourself into the story, what he’s learned in his 20+ years in mainstream publishing, and how he juggles his multiple creative adventures. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Throughout his globe-trotting career as a journalist Scott has spent extensive time in South Asia, been a contributing editor at WIRED for over five years, and written for Mother Jones, Men s Journal, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Discover, Outside, Fast Company, and many others. Mr. Carney is the author of a trio of nonfiction books that combine investigative journalism and anthropology, including The Red Market (where he explored the black market for human body parts), A Death on Diamond Mountain (an exami

Award-winning New York Times bestselling author, investigative journalist, and anthropologist, Scott Carney, stopped by the show recently to talk about the dangers of putting yourself into the story, what he’s learned in his 20+ years in mainstream publishing, and how he juggles his multiple creative adventures. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Throughout his globe-trotting career as a journalist Scott has spent extensive time in South Asia, been a contributing editor at WIRED for over five years, and written for Mother Jones, Men s Journal, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Discover, Outside, Fast Company, and many others. Mr. Carney is the author of a trio of nonfiction books that combine investigative journalism and anthropology, including The Red Market (where he explored the black market for human body parts), A Death on Diamond Mountain (an examination of

The multiple New York Times bestselling non-fiction author and New Yorker columnist, Maria Konnikova, dropped by the show back in early 2016 to chat with me about what it’s like to be a contributing journalist for a storied institution, productivity hacks, and her own creative process. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! This is a fan favorite from the archives that I’m updating because it’s an insightful interview and Maria has also been in the news recently for winning her first premier professional poker title. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and as the story goes — reported by Poker News — over “… a year ago … Konnikova decided to learn the game of poker and asked the infamous, Erik Seidel [winner of eight World Series of Poker and a World Poker Tour title] to help mentor/coach her. Her goal … was to play poker for a year, to learn the game,

In Part Two of this file the Editor-in-Chief of Copyblogger, my colleague and friend, Stefanie Flaxman, returned to chat with me about her journey from solopreneur to headline honcho, the rules of “ruthless editing,” her philosophy of creativity, and much more. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Stef is a professional writer and editor who manages the editorial team for Copyblogger.com, where she helps publish one of “… the most popular [and influential] content marketing and writing blog[s]…” available, for a very large audience of online writers. [Incidentally Copyblogger is the reason The Writer Files exists and where the written series was started.] A long-time contributor to the Copyblogger community, she officially joined the team in 2014 with a mission to help ensure stringent editorial standards, and create content aimed at helping fellow entrepr

Welcome to a double-stuffed episode of the show with the Editor-in-Chief of Copyblogger, my colleague and friend, Stefanie Flaxman, who stopped by this week to rap with me about her journey from solopreneur to headline honcho, the rules of “ruthless editing,” her philosophy of creativity, and much more. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Stef is a professional writer and editor who manages the editorial team for Copyblogger.com, where she helps publish one of “… the most popular [and influential] content marketing and writing blog[s]…” available, for a very large audience of online writers. [Incidentally Copyblogger is the reason The Writer Files exists and where the written series was started.] A long-time contributor to the Copyblogger community, she officially joined the team in 2014 with a mission to help ensure stringent editorial standards, and cre

In Part Two of this file, the award-winning creator, producer, and host of the megahit Lore podcast, TV show, and book series, Aaron Mahnke, returned to share how he created his scary storytelling universe from scratch, his writing regimen for success, and advice to fellow scribes. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In less than three years the writer and former graphic designer grew his humble “true life scary story” podcast, Lore, from a small email list and an effort to market his self-published novels, into a critically acclaimed show with more than 100 million downloads. The podcast won Apple Podcasts’ Best of 2015 & 2016, and picked up a “Best History Podcast 2016” from the Academy of Podcasters. Lore was also recently turned into an Amazon TV series by producers of The Walking Dead and The X-Files (with Aaron as a co-exec. producer), as well as a l

The award-winning creator, producer, and host of the megahit Lore podcast, TV show, and book series, Aaron Mahnke, joined me this week to share how he created his scary storytelling universe from scratch, his writing regimen for success, and advice to fellow scribes. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! In less than three years the writer and former graphic designer grew his humble “true life scary story” podcast, Lore, from a small email list and an effort to market his self-published novels, into a critically acclaimed show with more than 100 million downloads. The podcast won Apple Podcasts’ Best of 2015 & 2016, and picked up a “Best History Podcast 2016” from the Academy of Podcasters. Lore was also recently turned into an Amazon TV series by producers of The Walking Dead and The X-Files (with Aaron as a co-exec. producer), as well as a live tour, and a

The award-winning literary suspense novelist and New York Times bestselling author of The Bookseller, Cynthia Swanson, took a break before her upcoming book tour to chat with me about her new thriller, The Glass Forest, the writer-slash-designer s process and unique relationship with creativity, and how she finds her ideas. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! The bestselling author started out as a freelance marketing and technical writer before her debut novel, The Bookseller, became an Indie Next pick and winner of the 2016 WILLA Award for Historical Fiction. The book has been translated into over a dozen languages and was optioned for a film adaptation with Julia Roberts attached to star and produce. Cynthia’s latest psychological thriller The Glass Forest, has been described as “… a gripping literary suspense novel set in the 1960s about a deeply troub

The multiple New York Times bestselling author of A Whole New Mind, Drive, and To Sell is Human, Daniel Pink, dropped by the show back in 2015 to chat with me about his experience as a TV producer, his take on writer’s block, and productivity & creativity hacks for non-fiction writers. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! This is a replay of the interview I did with Dan in honor of the publication of his latest book — When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing — a book that aims to unlock “… the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home.” The behavior expert’s sixth book is being hailed by many as one of the must-read business and leadership books of 2018, and The Wall Street Journal wrote, “Daniel H. Pink s deeply researched but never boring study could be a turning point.” Mr. Pink has also written for The

In Part Two of this file, the celebrated cartoonist, writer, and co-author of the instant New York Times bestselling non-fiction book Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, Zach Weinersmith, took a break to rap with me about writing a research-intensive book with his wife, the difference between nerds and geeks, and how he draws inspiration for his many creative projects. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Zach is best known for his popular web-comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC), a “geek comic” with a vast following. His comics have been featured in The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, The Washington Post, Freakonomics, and many more. His wife is noted research scientist, Kelly Weinersmith (who was also guest on this show), a top 20 podcast host, and co-author of their bestselling book Soonish: Ten Emerging T

Celebrated cartoonist, writer, and co-author of the instant New York Times bestselling non-fiction book Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, Zach Weinersmith, took a break to rap with me about writing a research-intensive book with his wife, the difference between nerds and geeks, and how he draws inspiration for his many creative projects. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Zach is best known for his popular web-comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC), a “geek comic” with a vast following. His comics have been featured in The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, The Washington Post, Freakonomics, and many more. His wife is noted research scientist, Kelly Weinersmith (who was also guest on this show), a top 20 podcast host, and co-author of their bestselling book Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve an

In the cliffhanger conclusion to my chat with author and publishing consultant, Jodie Archer, we are joined this week by Dr. Matthew Jockers, English Professor & Dean at the University of Nebraska, and co-author of the internationally acclaimed book The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel. We’ll talk about Matt’s game-changing research at the heart of the book, the two authors’ new consulting service for writers based on the algorithm they developed at Stanford, and the author report from my beta test of the service. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! For 11 years Matt was a Lecturer and “embedded” Academic Technology Specialist (ATS) in the Department of English at Stanford University. There he co-founded and directed the paradigm-shifting Stanford Literary Lab with Franco Moretti. In 2014 Matt also worked as a Principal Research Scientist