The Writer's Mind Podcast is about thinking, philosophy, writing, and storytelling all within the context of being an intelligent, thinking person who is constantly forming their own opinions and points of view.
The Goal of the Podcast is to give writers a deeper look at writing. Writing is not about 3 Act Structure and 12-point script plots like you learn about in film school. Writing is about thinking. It is about building your point of view. It is about expressing your view of the world to others. And it is ultimately about how life should be lived.
I could not agree with you more, Tyler. Growing up watching the Andy Griffith show, with Ron Howard as Opie ,is a great example of this. A master class in critical thinking and how to live life in a positive way. Always a moral example, I think I learned more about how to live a responsible life by watching that. Between that and the Addams family, I think I got out very well rounded education! Yes, stories have always been around and passed down, mainly because the storytellers wanted us to learn some thing and if we can do it in a fun way, well that makes the lesson easier. Thank you so much for your insights. You are so smart for your age. :)
This youtube feature of What Is The Writer's Mind with Tyler Mowery The Writer's Mind Podcast 001 has some emancipating discussions/examples. I also enjoy how he shares some writing ideas to help get the writing creative juices flowing.
So it sounds like, in the video, you’re using “reason” and “meaning” interchangeably? It could very well be my misunderstanding of the material, but I thought we MADE meaning (think his stance on art, love, hobbies…) in a world that lacked reason? So it’s not that life has no meaning, it’s that the universe has no reason, therefore we must stop seeking the reason and making our own meaning, but to also be wary of “suicide”
In my opinion, I believe that entertainment for entertainment sake is all well and good, but those are not things that will be picked up again and again, if there is no “depth” to a piece of entertainment, then it was fun while it lasted, but there’s no reason to review it, (unless it has become a subject of Mere-exposure effect), but something with depth and analysis of a question, is something that when viewed time and time again gets you to think about the subject in different ways depending on where you’re headspace is. Now building these questions into a story is best done by being subtext, not by preaching.most don’t likes to be preached to most don’t look to entertainment to be lectured, even on subjects you agree with. I believe a genre that does this well is science fiction, because it uses the crazy out of this world situations to pose a question or hold a mirror to a part of human existence and place in the world without being like “hey look at this, and you should think this way” (but much like any type of entertainment this has to be done correctly)
Great video, but I disagree on a couple of points. I don't think stories should be "beneficial", in the way that they "have a message", as this can trap the writer to conventional morality and ruin a good story. For example, you have the classic the scenario of the violent and vengeful hero attempting to kill his enemy, and yet the vast majority of these stories end with "To be better than you, I won't kill you", or "the best revenge is a good life"... any nonsense that will allow the writer to avoid actually having their hero become a murderer because they the writer believe murder is wrong, while the character themselves would've probably just killed him. Forcing your own morality inside an entirely different context, with a vastly different world and a character with vastly different lived experienced from you, creates a stilted, fake, and wholly unsatisfying conclusion. This has happened before in history, where the meta shifted so that all stories had to have "good, Christian, and moral message", and anything less was worthless garbage. As such, stories become obliged to have a message, where it becomes very unnatural to have one. You yourself mention how authors can become stuck in certain conflicts. That is a symptom of presupposing that *constructing* a philosophical conflict is necessary at all. I am not arguing that philosophical conflict is not necessary, nor that it is not beneficial to the story, but rather the *mindset* of having to figure out a "philosophical conflict" manufactures poor philosophical conflict. In fact, I would argue that all story naturally contains such conflict, and the task of the writer is to become aware of it, and let the different ideologies at play naturally rise from subtext to text during the second arc.
Hello my friend, I learn a lot from you and I want to suggest that you read the stories found in the Qur’an because it contains the most powerful way of telling a story, and we believe in it as Muslims that it is from God, and whether you believe in something or not, but you should read the story of Joseph from the Qur’an and you will be inspired by the way it is told. The story of the Prophet Joseph
Bro, you need to work on your reading comprehension. This is one example "consumerism you have an idea of what that means"...re-read and re-read what an anti concept is "rationally unusable" no one has an idea of what it means, it's an anti-concept it's worse than means nothing it's an attack on "ideas as such". Read understanding objectivism. And Rand isn't 'prominent person in objectivism' she is the creator of it. You need to understand this before you make a podcast on it, or interview those that can speak with actual knowledge cus you've not a clue what you are saying.
I see that you made this video quite a long time ago. I just stumbled upon it down a youtube chain of related videos/topics, and the name of your podcast made me curious (Writer's Mind). I am very appreciative that you put this together!
This is great advice. I've repeatedly spent so much time outlining, thinking that it will save me time on rewrites. In the end, I've spent just as much time or MORE and written just as many words trying to figure out my outline. You can do all of that by just writing the first draft. They shouldn't even really call it a draft. It's an exploration that then gets rewritten into a draft.
I found this episode to be very good for an introduction to what “thinking” truly is. The art of not just consuming but choosing to pace yourself through questions not based on the effort of some network or other people but your own. Sometimes we think everything has been answered for us but truly you are just a cloned version of other people’s opinion until you choose to think for yourself. As writers we ought to choose to not only seek for answers but for better questions too by slowly discarding existing interpretations that you know to be untrue. To respond to everything that creates conflict within you and not just accept it as a fact when in truth it’s just... a belief you didn’t even come up with yourself. Indoctrination doesn’t create the real you.
we all have writer's block and that is normal. Hope you guys push through and finish your scripts! I can't wait to hear new Podcasters during my commute to school.
Dear Tyler, this was exactly what I needed at this point in my process. It got me back on track. I will pick up your podcast again and take you with me like a small geanie in my pocket when I lose track of the philosophical question in my work. Thank you! Love from Denmark
Gosh! Too many words…too much talking….taking a LONG time to get to the point! Also, maybe naming specific movies that go with the examples you are bringing up so that we can quickly grasp what you are talking about? Thanks
This ep was mind blowing! haha. I definitely have the same thoughts when I go out. Like I have my own life with goals and challenges, and there are tons of other people around me that have a totally different lifestyle that I have. That always interests me. Perception vs reality is a broad concept that you explained very well! New sub :)🎉
I remember watching these every Friday morning in 2021. It sort of became a weekly habit and I enjoyed this podcast so much. Hearing the intro took me back.
This video is talking at me and telling rather than selling. Using rhetorical questions occasionally might boost interest. Why is it essential to have the main character contributing to his predicament rather than stuff simply happening? Because . . .
