Brain Science for Writers roundups are sporadic collections of psychology and neuroscience articles that I find to be interesting and/or useful for writers.
Featured Link: An awesome map of where emotions are felt in the body.
We use the same brain regions to process physical, emotional, and abstract distance.
Reading a story can change how you perceive yourself, but only if you're highly engaged in it.
Everybody wants to be happy, right? Not at all. In fact, many cultures fear or avoid happiness.
Need to improve reading comprehension? Try acting it out.
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Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/19/14
Top Pick: A fascinating video on brain changes while people are listening to a story, and how those changes predict behavior. I'm not quite sure I agree with their conclusions about any specific type of story structure, but still, very interesting.
When are jokes about a tragedy funny rather than offensive?
Apparently there's a link between hotter temperatures and increased violence.
An interesting article about a language in which smell is described much more specifically than in English. Takeaway for writers? "Even if language doesn’t strictly limit the concepts you’re able to think about, it’s still easier to notice distinctions if you can put them into words. Which means that if you take the time to recognize the nuances of your favorite scents, you may find yourself developing a more elaborate smell vocabulary of your own."
One professor argues why digital reading is bad for a humanities education. (via Passive Guy)
Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.
When are jokes about a tragedy funny rather than offensive?
Apparently there's a link between hotter temperatures and increased violence.
An interesting article about a language in which smell is described much more specifically than in English. Takeaway for writers? "Even if language doesn’t strictly limit the concepts you’re able to think about, it’s still easier to notice distinctions if you can put them into words. Which means that if you take the time to recognize the nuances of your favorite scents, you may find yourself developing a more elaborate smell vocabulary of your own."
One professor argues why digital reading is bad for a humanities education. (via Passive Guy)
Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.
Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/12/2014
Moving into fall now! I just turned in the first draft of the sequel to Midnight Thief, so I'm taking a few days to decompress and catch up on blogging :-)
An excellent article about creativity, from a neuroscientist who studies it. (via @artsylliu)
Men who are ashamed of their bodies are more prone to sexual aggression against women. Some useful character building ideas here -- the interaction between self image and aggression toward others.
We're more scared of things that are moving toward us. This definitely has applications in film, though there might be some creative applications in writing as well.
An interesting article about how your emotional state can influence how you perceive others.
Writing about love makes things taste sweeter. This love-sweet connection is a useful one to keep in mind.
Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.
An excellent article about creativity, from a neuroscientist who studies it. (via @artsylliu)
Men who are ashamed of their bodies are more prone to sexual aggression against women. Some useful character building ideas here -- the interaction between self image and aggression toward others.
We're more scared of things that are moving toward us. This definitely has applications in film, though there might be some creative applications in writing as well.
An interesting article about how your emotional state can influence how you perceive others.
Writing about love makes things taste sweeter. This love-sweet connection is a useful one to keep in mind.
Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.
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