This article, by the New York Times in 2014, was recently the subject of a state reading exam my freshwoman had to take in English class.
Although no definition of "expert writer" is given (other than the average age of the professional writer was 25), it nonetheless reaffirms the 10,000-rule -- that we have to practice something 10,000 times (some say 10,000 hours), to train our brains to be good, really good, at it.
The article is based on a scientific study of fMRIs of professional and novice writers and was published in the journal NeuroImage. It aimed " to explore brain activities associated with creativity and expertise in literary writing." The photo is one of three images published with the study and used to promote it.
I don't write longhand (see picture), so I wonder about the researchers' methodology. However, I tried to be cognizant of what I was doing the last time I was writing and it felt like it was going well. I was aware of a mixture of the two techniques employed by novice and professional writers -- imagining my novel's world and the actions of the characters I was writing about, yet also employing writing techniques, thinking about the language, to create an "effect" with my words in the text.
When I'm "in a groove," time passes without my notice. I start at 8 am and look up at 12:30, unaware that hours have passed, and I have to pick up the kiddos from schools. When stopping, there is a feeling of being jolted out of the writing world, and needing to re-orient my focus back on the here and now, kiddos and family.
Guess I need to practice some more, eh? One more reason to keep writing. Never quit, never give up (Suzuki saying).
