New podcast on writing: The Writer’s Mind with Shaun Levin
I've just finished listening to the pilot episode of Shaun Levin’s podcast The Writer’s Mind. I've never listened to a writing podcast before, but I'm already a fan of the format. Shaun, I assumed, would talk about his writing process, possibly inviting other writers to do the same. The podcast, to my surprise, is essentially a writing exercise in which you can join Shaun as he writes. Brilliant in its simplicity!
Shaun began by telling a short story about how he had just returned from the supermarket where he had seen grapefruits from his home country of South Africa. Drinking the juice, he imagined, was like drinking water that comes from his homeland. That moment prompted him to write a story about it during the podcast.
I enjoyed how, just like when he delivers his Domestika writing classes, Shaun emphasized the significance of just showing up to write, even for a few minutes a day, and writing without judgment or editing. The beauty of the process of writing is that you never know where the story will take you. There is also no topic that you can’t write about, a topic that is too mundane to pay attention to. That reminded me of the advice from Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones. To demonstrate that, Shaun read The Fish Tank, a brilliant short story by Lydia Davis. It's vital for writers, especially those specializing in short stories, to read widely in order to understand that no story is too ordinary to be told.
“I stare at four fish in a tank in a supermarket. They are swimming in parallel formation against a small current created by a jet of water, and they are opening and closing their mouths and staring off into the distance with the one eye, each, that I can see. As I watch them through the glass, thinking how fresh they would be to eat, still alive now, and calculating whether I might buy one to cook for dinner, I also see, as though behind or through them, a larger, shadowy form darkening their tank, what there is of me on the glass, their predator.”
I've always enjoyed watching people work (“Study with me” or “Write with me” types of YouTube videos are my favorite). There was something therapeutic about listening to Shaun write, breathe, and turn pages as he was writing. Altogether, we spent 15 minutes writing. I like how Shaun simplifies the writing process. It all boils down to showing up and writing freely.
I can't wait for more episodes, working alongside Shaun, and listening to some great short stories.
