Magic



"Books are a uniquely portable magic."  -Stephen King


Good writers are like magicians: they create illusions through sleight of hand. Writers guide readers through worlds that do not yet exist. And sometimes the act of creating brings the writer into another world as well: a dream-like place, where time is fleeting and story is born.
Much of the world knows this part of the creative process as flow, or as being in the zone. This is actually not limited to creativity, for we may experience it with any rewarding activity that we are deeply absorbed in. According to Harvard professor Ellen Langer, one key thing we can do to improve our flow is to be mindful: "Simply say to yourself, what are five new things about this person that I live with, about this route that I take home? Looking for the new in the familiar leads us to be mindful."

Sometimes, though, flow is still hard to find. Other times, it just happens. 

 Like magic. 

 How to find your flow:
-how-to-find-your-flow-state-to-be-peak-creative

What Murakami Haruki thinks about magic & writing:
magic-writing-advice-from-haruki-murakami

 Some books on the alchemy of writing:
writing magic for YA+
creative-writing/the-magic-of-writing
the-magical-writing-grimoire

 Other interesting links about magic and writing:
thoughts-on-writing-the-magic-of-writing
a-magic-trick-for-writing
improve-your-writing: fiction/writing-magical-realism

 What do you find magical about writing?
How do you find your flow?


"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words."
-Terence McKenna

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."-W.B. Yeats

"For magic exists in this, the true naming of a thing."
-Ursula K. LeGuin


"Words and language are a magical medium, transmitting meaning-rich ideas across space and time from one mind to another. How words are made feels important to our discussion. We "spell" them. In "spell"-ing a word, we are literally casting a spell, calling forth a spirit, and conjuring up a particular universe, all in one fell swoop."
-Paul Levy


Image by Tumisu from Pixabay 
Story telling story
Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay 
Girl with book
Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay 
Pegasus

Comments

  1. Beth LapinApril 16, 2020 at 4:35 AM

    Honestly, belief in magic is essential right now!

    Beth
    bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

N is for Name

Image
NA M ES               “Names have power.”                       -Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief              What's in a name? Plenty. The name you give your character gives the reader an instant impression, even if they don't know what the name really means. For example, w hat do you think of when you hear the following names:  Destiny Colt Barack Ruby Hester Sierra Khan Jesus Barbara Magda Aloha Martha Kofi Prudence Lucifer Bilbo Miranda Filippo Jessie Duncan Anjali Peewee Ishmael Ludwig Ngai Dae won Amber Hercules Scarlett Ashley Midori Gabriel Xerxes Ralph Heathcliff Veruca Hannibal Roshanna Ramona Svengali  Hans Isabella Lolita Jeeves Pip Ebenezer  Rudolph Gump Scout Winnie Grendel Tarzan Scheherazade I bet each of them gave you an immediate impression, even if you can't fully articulate what that impression is.  Well, your reader will have one, too. So when you choose a name for your c
Read more

F is for Fear

Image
FEAR “Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.”  ―  Ralph Keyes ,  The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear Fear isn't something we talk about a lot in terms of creative process.  But it can keep us from following our dreams for years, even lifetimes. And that's a real shame.  Because, at the end of your life, you don't want to have big regrets. Such as: I never wrote that novel I dreamed of. I never published a short story. I never wrote down that children's story. I never followed my dream of writing . I've heard lots of people say some variation of this. You probably have, too.  The good news is, it is virtually never too late to follow your dream.  Don't believe me?  Check out these late bloomers: Grandma Moses began to paint seriously at the age of 78. Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't publish Little House on the Prairie  until she was 64. Frank McCourt wa
Read more

Zest

Image
"What hunger is in relation to food,  zest is in relation to life."       -Bertrand Russell Zest is one of my favorite things: there are few foods that smell as clean and energizing as a citrus fruit--especially a lemon. Zest is, therefore, the perfect word to describe the excitement, or energy for life. We have zest for things that we love. And sometimes it is that zest, the tantalizing hint of what is to come, that hope for a more delicious future, that carries us through. "True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done. The zest of creating things new." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery If gratitude is for the past, hope is for the future,  zest, therefore, is for the present."                     -Park, Peterson & Seligman, 2004 "Zest. Gusto. How rarely do we see one living, or for that matter, creating by them. Yet if I were asked to name the most important items in a writer's make-up and rush him along the road he wants to go...I woul
Read more