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creative writing science, differences between novice and expert writers, science, study, writing, writing experiments
As a student of science, I love reading up on new studies. I stumbled across one study that looked at the differences between novice and experienced writers. Creativity is incredibly difficult to study which is why it caught my attention.
In the study, they had two groups of volunteers participate in a creative writing workshop. One group had no experience in creative writing and the other were experienced. When the participants wrote their stories, the vision-processing areas of the brain became active for both groups. This makes sense as writers often talk about “seeing” the scenes that they are writing.
But there was a difference between seasoned writers and novices.
The brains of expert writers also showed activity in regions involved in speech. “I think both groups are using different strategies,” Lotze said to Zimmer. It’s possible that the amateurs are watching their stories like a movie inside their heads, but the professionals may use their inner voice to narrate the story instead, explained Lotze.
I thought it was a cool little study. It’s interesting that the experienced writers used the brain area of speech much more than novice writers. Maybe expert writers are much more aware of how they are using language, how they are crafting their sentences, developing character voice, and focusing on dialogue? I’m not sure, but it’s interesting.
What do you think of the study’s findings?
To read more click HERE.
– Ermisenda
Ermilia 