Category: Science

Writing in a Time of Climate Anxiety

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in a panel discussion during Lesley University’s 2020 Creative Writing MFA winter residency. The topic: “Writing in a Time of Climate Anxiety.” Joining me on the panel was author and photographer Tony Eprile, children’s author Tracey Baptiste, and poet and environmental activist Andrea Read.

What Was on Everyone’s Mind?

Tony shared some of his gorgeous photographs of wild places, green spaces, and rare species. He opened up about his fear that the next generation will grow up having no knowledge that these species and places ever existed. What kind of psychological and social impact will losing our green spaces have on our children, he asked?

Tracy talked about how she dealt with the theme of climate change and loss of habitat and home in the third book of her Jumbies series. She revealed that sea-level rise is predicted to eat up her childhood home of Trinidad. The island is going to vanish beneath the waves, where it might become mythologized like Atlantis in the minds of future generations. Who will she be, Tracey wondered, without her home?

Andrea spoke about her experience purchasing 500 acres of clear cut land in Maine. She (and others) planted thousands of hardwood saplings on the site to restore the native habitat. The farmhouse and barn on the property sat atop a plot of land whose topsoil had been stripped off and sold. Andrea and her husband used permaculture techniques to bring it back to a lush and productive garden in a single season. She then co-founded an art and nature nonprofit called the Newforest Institute (no longer in operation).

I focused on the power of writers (and all creative artists) to inspire the imaginations of the general public. I pointed out that, when it comes to writing about climate change, we have generally failed to do our jobs well. For decades, there has been a collective failure of the imagination. I challenged the audience of MFA candidates to do better.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

We are, as the title of Jonathan Gottschall’s book indicates, storytelling animals. The stories we read (and write) have the power to influence cultural values. They can spark technological innovation. They can inspire people to take action and make changes. Consider the works of H. G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Vern, Isaac Asimov, Jack London, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Shelley, among others. Their stories changed the people who read them.

Writers are a rare and valuable breed. We’re blessed with active imaginations paired with an ability to use the written word in ways that let others imagine things they might not otherwise. And sometimes, when we do things right, our stories influence humanity’s path forward. Consider Jules Verne, who wrote about men flying to the moon in rocket ships in 1865. Or Mary Shelley. To this day, Frankenstein invites readers to consider what consequences may result should science and morality become uncoupled. Michael Crichton updated that cautionary tale for modern readers. He got people thinking about the unforeseen repercussions of genetic engineering technologies and demanding regulation and oversight.

When it comes to imagining mankind’s future in the face of large-scale environmental disasters, however, writers have historically given the topic only the most superficial of examinations.

Most of what’s been written thus far are plot-focused action and adventure stories. While such stories definitely have their place, they are meant to be an escape for readers or viewers. They are entertainment. They are NOT stories intended to spark reflection in the hearts and minds of the masses.

Dig Deeper

What we need right now are stories that will get people engaged and thinking, not checking out. Only when people engage with a problem and start thinking about it can they then solve it. If you, as a writer (or an artist), feel anxious when you think about climate change, dig into your emotions and unpack them. Use that brilliant imagination of yours to visualize your fears in a visceral way.

Worried about widespread famine, war, disease, a population crash? Nuclear Annihilation? Write about it, but do so in a way that is emotionally honest and that has character, not plot, at its core. Make it believable. Draw your audience in, connect readers to your characters. Write a narrative that strikes a deep emotional cord and demands reflection for years, decades, centuries to come.

We need climate change stories that will get people thinking–really thinking–about the messy moral and ethical issues tangled up in large-scale ecological disasters. I’m thinking of stories like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, or P. D. James’s Children of Men. More recently, HBO’s dramatic series Chernobyl highlighted what a failure of leadership could bring about during an environmental crisis.

Is There Space for Happy Endings?

I would argue yes. Showing hopeful outcomes is not just okay but necessary, as long as they’re handled in ways that are emotionally honest.

Neal Shusterman’s YA novel Dry is an excellent example of how to write a hopeful ending that doesn’t patronize readers. Shusterman wrote about characters uniting despite differences. They pooled their resources, developed believable solutions, and then implemented them successfully. But they made all kinds of mistakes along the way. They suffered, and they almost failed. Shusterman used his power as a writer to make his readers care. He made them WANT to avoid a catastrophe. And isn’t that the point? Because if we can divert the disaster, we can avoid the suffering that will come with it.

A Call to Action!

If you’re a writer and you’re feeling anxious in this time of climate change, pick up your pen and do what you do best. Write a story daring enough and honest enough to inspire the masses, influence thought and maybe change the future. Be the next Mary Shelley, the next H. G. Wells, the next Jules Vern. That was my message to the audience at the panel discussion two weeks back, and that’s my message to every writer who reads this post.

Do you feel anxious whenever you think about climate change? Have you attempted to explore your fears through your writing? If not, maybe it’s time to start.

January 18, 2020
My Interview for Arthur McCabe’s Website!

My Very First “Writer” Interview!!

Over on the website Interviews from the Void, I had the honor of chatting with Arthur McCabe about a whole bunch of interesting writing stuff. It’s a sign of how inept I am at professional marketing and blogging that I only just thought today of mentioning this on my own site.

In any case, Arthur and I talked about the neuroscience of engaging fiction, how evolving communication technologies are or aren’t changing readers brains, and how I use neuroscience both when I write for and teach science to teens. The questions were thoughtful and I revealed a lot about myself, I think, in the interview.

If you’re interested, check it out.

Interviews from the Void: Episode 24 – Katherine Karch

August 5, 2018
Neuroscience Hack #2-Writing That Hooks Readers

In my previous post, Writing that Hooks Readers-Neuroscience Hack #1, I discussed how elements of change affect our brains as we read. As promised, I”m back with the next installment of this multi-part exploration of the neuroscience behind writing that grabs our attention and pulls us in.

If you’ve ever watched an Olympic sporting event like the floor routine in gymnastics, you might have seen shots of athletes preparing to compete. They stand to the side, eyes closed, twisting their bodies around in odd ways. You know what they’re doing. They’re envisioning their routine, imagining the jumps, the turns, the tucks. The term for it is pre-visualization, and there’s plenty of data in the field of neuroscience to show that it improves performance in the live competition. The same things happening to those athlete’s brains occur inside readers’ minds when they read. Provided, that is, an author uses a few key tricks when they write.

Brain Hack #2: “Monkey See, Monkey Do” is a Truer Statement Than You Think

In 1996, a team of Italian scientists inserted electric probes into the premotor cortices of monkeys. They tracked neuron (nerve cell) activation in the animal’s brains when they reached for a toy or grasped a piece of food or brought a cup of water to their mouth to drink. Each time a monkey did something, the scientists noted which neurons fired during each activity.

Interestingly, they discovered that when a scientist reached for a toy or grasped a piece of food, the neurons in a watching monkey’s brain would fire in the same way as if the animal were the one performing the actions. The lead scientist said, “…we realized that the pattern of neuron activity associated with the observed action was a true representation in the brain of the act itself, regardless of who was performing it.” (G, Rizzolatti, et al. “Mirrors in the Mind.” Scientific American, 2006. pp. 54–61. Print.)

What does that mean? From a neuroscience, it means our brains simulate what we observe others do and experience. In the book The Storytelling Animal, author Johnathan Gottschall suggested that this phenomenon offers us a “safe” way to learn new skills. It also lets us assess possible consequences of specific actions without endangering ourselves.

To better understand this idea, you have to know about a couple of specific types of neurons.

Motor Neurons

These are the nerve cells that stimulate our muscles when we kick, jump, or swing a bat. They originate in a region in our brain called the motor cortex and end in our muscles.

Mirror Neurons

These are the neurons our Italian scientist friends saw firing in their monkeys. The science is far from conclusive on why these cells exist. However, many folks believe mirror neurons help us understand the intent of other people’s actions. They also help us learn new skills by imitation.

Whereas motor neurons fire when we kick, jump or swing a bat, mirror neurons fire when we watch (or read) someone else kick, jump, or swing a bat. If a person is hooked up to a fMRI brain scanner while watching a film of an X-games freestyle skier launching off a half-pipe doing some crazy, twisty, flip thingy, the mirror neurons in their motor cortex light up brightly. Inside their brains, it looks like they’re the ones coming off the half-pipe. Even if they’ve never been skiing!

Writers Can Use Mirror Neurons to Deepen Reader Engagement

Include strong action verbs that reference specific body parts in your writing to stimulate your readers’ mirror neurons. The key to this brain hack working, however, is the specificity of your descriptions.

“He did a flip off the diving board.”

– this sentence uses an auxiliary verb (did) versus an action verb (flipped). Flip, in this sentence is a noun, a thing, not an action than can be mirrored in our minds.

“He flipped himself backward off the diving board.”

– in this sentence, flipped is an action verb, which is a stronger choice. Reading about an action, at least in theory, can stimulate mirror neurons. Also, we know something about the direction of the action (backward) and a rudimentary setting (the diving board). However, the verb flip refers to the whole body rather than specific body parts, so it doesn’t stimulate mirror neurons all that much.

“Pumping his arms like pistons, he heaved his weight downward against the edge of the diving board, then rode its recoil high into the air, tucking his knees tight to his chest as he spun, and craned his neck back as he sought to find the water.”

– I went a bit over-the-top with this one, but I wanted to make a clear point. This sentence contains multiple action verbs (pumping, heaved, rode, tucked, spun, craned, sought, and find). Many of the verbs reference specific parts of the body (arms, knees, and neck). The last element embedded into this sentence that is absent in the prior two examples is a clear goal. The individual is seeking the water. It’s the most engaging of the three because it does the best job of stimulating your motor cortex via mirror neuron activation.

So there you have it! Neuroscience hack #2: Mirror Neurons. Next time you sit down to write a scene, or edit a scene for that matter, pay attention to your use of verbs. Your readers will be pulled in and feel as if they’re living the story.

More posts about a neuroscience hacks writers can use to make their writing more engaging will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing to you!

July 11, 2018
Writing That Hooks Readers – Neuroscience Hack #1
The final requirement for my Masters in Creative Writing program at Lesley University is to teach a graduate student seminar, and I’ve chosen a topic that merges my two great passions in life: biology and writing. More specifically, neuroscience and literature. I’m going to drop a little science on my fellow writers next week by teaching them three inescapable brain hacks they can employ to suck readers into their stories.

It occurred to me that these neuroscience hacks would make some cool blog posts. Today’s neuroscience hack is subtle but incredibly useful.

Brain Hack #1: The human brain evolved to monitor the immediate environment for signs of change.

It’s true! From an evolutionary standpoint, the brain is an organ with a singular purpose. To keep us alive. An essential part of “not dying” is noticing any kind of change to the current situation.

Change grabs our attention as we assess whether it is positive or negative. The brain then forms a “survival goal” based on the conclusion and takes steps to achieve that goal. It could be as simple as putting on a sweater when the temperature drops. Or eating food when blood glucose levels fall. Or running for cover when a strange shadow shifts position in the tall grasses of the African savannah.

Changes such as a hulking figure with a knife stepping from a shadowy alley come with potentially extreme consequences. Experiencing that situation firsthand could mean death. Thankfully, our brains developed workarounds that let us gain knowledge and experience safely.

We have the somewhat unique ability to learn by watching others deal with problems.

Forget it, babe. You’re hooked!

Whether the observed individual lives or dies, we gain knowledge that might keep us alive should we encounter a similar problem.

When we read fictional stories, we get to practice identifying changes and assessing their potential positives or negatives.

In 2007, researchers found that when people read stories, there is a significant increase in brain activity during narrative moments containing changes in characters, scene locations, or changes in characters’ goals.

Changes that Really Light Brains Up:
- Words that suggest the passage of time, such as later, soon, shortly, or immediately.
- Descriptions of spacial changes, such as characters moving from one room to another, or even moving from one side of a room to another.
- Descriptions of characters changing their interaction with objects (picking up or putting down objects, or opening or closing things like doors or windows).
- Showing characters starting a new, goal-oriented action with a clear intent. For example, initiating a conversation, preparing to jump over a puddle, or thrusting a sword during a fight.
Consider the following excerpt from Cressida Cowell’s middle grade novel How to Train Your Dragon:

The Dragon had crawled down into the depths of the ocean and gone into a Sleep Coma. Dragons can stay in this suspended state for eternity, half-dead, half-alive, buried under fathom after fathom of icy-cold seawater. Not a muscle of this particular Dragon had moved for six or seven centuries.

But the previous week, a Killer Whale who had chased some seals unexpectedly deep was surprised to notice a slight movement in the upper eyelid of the dragon’s right eye. An ancestral memory stirred in the whale’s brain and he swam away from there as fast as his fins could carry him. And, a week later, the sea around the Dragon Mountain—which had previously been teeming with crabs and lobsters and shoals and shoals of fish—was a great, underwater desert. Not a mollusk stirred, not a scallop shimmied.

Admit it, that’s some engaging writing. One of the reasons why it pulls you in so fast is because it contains so much change. Your brain locks onto the text as it tries to figure out whether those changes are good or bad. Cowell employs another interesting neuroscience hack in this excerpt, too, but that’s a topic for another post.

Regardless of the quality of the actual story being told (Twilight? The Da Vince Code? Fifty Shades of Gray?), certain tricks can grab readers by the brain and engage them. Change is one of them. Take a look at your writing and see if adding a few elements of change livens things up a bit.

Have you ever gotten so into a book you were reading that you lost track of time and literally forgot about the real world? What was the book, and what was it that sucked you in so effectively?

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing to you!
June 21, 2018