Tangential Thinking
The Storyteller's Brain
Merry Met Folks
Psychologists, have been known to refer to tangential thinking as a ‘thought disturbance’, so I’m here to tell you it’s actually a super power. Without tangents you may not weave a layered, rich and complex story. Without tangents you may not see the way the world knits together in a wonderful biophilic ball of elastic bands. And, without tangents, you may miss the shiny stars along the way that inspire and inform the story, sparking new stories in the hearts of others and singing to their bones.
Tangential thinking is vital for the creative brain, however I do have a word of caution, for thoughts are like horses. They need to be reined in occasionally. When telling a story, you must always have a firm grip on where you are going and eventually end up there, and that my friends is a super power. Train and practice this power for long enough and eventually you may find you are travelling with the speed and skill of a Georgian mail coach with a firm hold on the reins of four, fine, black horses and a guard with a blunderbuss, standing on the foot plate, to keep you on track.
So where am I going with this?
I recently shared some stories and lore from my latest book with an online audience hosted by The Last Tuesday Society, and the host, Amy Hale, said ‘I love the way you weaved the stories together, showed us your thinking and how you got there.’ That my friends, was my tangential thinking.
If you would like to find out what Amy meant, I’m at Gilbert White’s House and Gardens on the 25th April to officially launch ‘Stories of The Sun’. Why should you muster the last of the day’s energy and gather with me in the beautiful barn at an 18th century, parson naturalists, once home? Well, because not only do I get to share with you my passion for storytelling, the work that went into writing the book and sign one for you if you’d like, but you get a peek behind the curtain at the rare and wondrous thing that is the tangential nature of the tale tellers noggin.
It is in this way that on the 25th I will take you from sunrises with the Greek Gods, to dance through the standing stones of Britain and Ireland, to meet the sunset, the darkness of the forest and Baba Yaga who dwells there. Come join us for an evening of stories, folklore and tangential thinking.
