Are You the Next Jane Austen? Channel Your Inner Writer!
Written by Stephanie
February 16, 2023
“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
Wow, who have thought that? You’d think that writing would come easy for writers, right? Apparently not. After all, those were the words of Thomas Mann, the German novelist and short story writer who won the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature. Mann should know a thing or two about writing!
Nevertheless, there is something almost magic about turning words and sentences into great stories. That is why we at Yip are so excited about having a best-selling author, Will Storr, as a guest on our platform. Storr’s webinar on Storytelling will be on Yip in March 2023, with about 300 seats available.
Let’s explore some of the reasons why you might consider attending this webinar, as well as maybe becoming a writer yourself.
Will Storr Comes To Yip!
Will Storr is a huge talent. That is why we are so honoured to have him as a guest speaker on Yip. He’s an award-winning, best-selling novelist and journalist and has been named both New Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year. He has written for newspaper heavyweights such as The New York Times, The Guardian and The Sunday Times.
His books include the novel The Hunger and The Howling of Killian Lone and the Sunday Times best-seller The Science of Storytelling. The latter book was a breakthrough and exciting exploration into what makes writing actually work. Mann achieved this by using psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience. He relates how myths and archetypes build stories, and offers tools on how any writer can craft better, more compelling stories. Who can say no to that, right?
Writing Is Good For You!
One reason you may want to attend Will Storr’s Yip webinar on story-telling is this: writing is good for the brain! It has been found that writing is typically an activity that is both highly stimulating and strenuous for the brain. That is especially the case when writing a first draft. That’s because many parts of the brain are actively engaged while you write away, as confirmed by Barry Gordon, a noted neurobiologist or ‘brain specialist’.
Just keeping a journal can be great for your health. For example, it’s been proven that writing in your journal for just 15 to 20 minutes a day for four months can significantly lower your blood pressure. It’s also good for liver functions and other health benefits. Doing it by hand is even better. Did you know that handwriting activates more motor neurons and sensors than using a keyboard? Either way, get those little grey cells marching by writing!
What About ChatGPT?
You may have already heard about ChatGPT, one of the artificial intellligence (AI) sensations of recent times. If not, ChatGPT has been defined as an “AI-powered chatbot” which was developed by San Francisco-based OpenAI and which uses ‘deep learning’ techniques to generate human-like responses to text inputs. In short, it can create text for you, including essays and even entire books.
Does this mean the end of writers as we know them?
Many alarmists have declared that this chatbot will indeed see the end of writers and copywriters, not to mention student-written college essays. There is no denying the writing prowess of ChatGPT, especially in generating story and plot ideas. However, experts have brought up many of the limitations of this AI technology. For one, the software depends heavily on how good (or bad) the inputs are before creating text. Also, ChatGPT has been known to make massive mistakes when compiling text.
So, no, ChatGPT will not ‘destroy’ talented writers. In the words of one professional writer, “…despite many people’s best efforts, you can’t outsource thinking.”
Become an SEO Writer
If you are serious about wanting to become a writer, you may want to consider search engine optimisation (SEO) writing. This is an in-demand form of online writing that has one primary goal: to get content ranked on the all-important first page of search engines such as Google, Safari or Duckduckgo. Search engines will usually use ‘spiders’ that crawl the internet looking for appropriate content for given search words or phrases.
The SEO writer researches relevant keywords and creates content that is best-matched to what users are searching for online. It is very important that the writer is updated on SEO trends at all times. For example, Google frequently changes its algorithms in order to perfect the search process. Google mostly wants the best-quality pages to get ranked the highest. ‘Authority’ and believability are all-important. The SEO writer is the expert that allows webpages to achieve just that.
Just Write For Fun!
And then here’s our final thought: why not just write for the sheer fun of it? Yes, it may be challenging and even mentally draining at times! But you now know that writing has outstanding benefits for brain and body alike. It allows your imagination to run free, your creative juices to flow. Even keeping a personal journey or diary can let you do just that.
The terrific thing about the webinar hosted by Will Storr is that it’s intended for people of all ages, backgrounds and writing abilities. It’ll be a treat for any student, teacher and tutor, not to mention aspiring writer. All you need is a wisp of an interest in exploring writing, even if it has nothing to do with a career in writing.
Remember this: writing need not be a chore. It should be a pleasure, even as it requires mental power and some big doses of courage. Writing conveys ideas and is what has created entire civilizations. Be a small part of that immense legacy. Be inspired by the words of American novelist, Toni Morrison, herself a 1993 Nobel laureate: “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
Perhaps there is a writer inside you after all?
