Susan, Author at Shedwriting

February 10, 2023March 17, 2023

Superpower

What’s he from? Did he play the bad guy in that film? I know that face!

Watching a movie in my house is clearly fun (although normally I say this stuff in my head). Sometimes it takes a while but I tend to identify the face pretty quickly. I didn’t know until recently that this is an unusual gift and I’m in a small percentage of people who can do it. It comes so naturally that I never thought about it.

Chris, on the other hand, is the opposite. Even after hours of pondering over faces he can’t pick them out of a line up. This is probably handy if you’re thinking of committing a crime in his presence – he’d never know it was you. Apparently I’m what’s known as a ‘super recogniser’ while Chris suffers from ‘face blindness.’ Takes all sorts…

Super recognisers were identified in 2009 by psychologist Richard Russell who stumbled on the phenomenon while studying prosopagnosia – a disorder in which people struggle to recognise faces, even their own. And then Scotland Yard took notice and set up the UK’s first dedicated super recogniser police unit – the perfect marriage of science and service.

Neuroscientists aren’t quite sure why some of us can do this so well, the brain is as elusive as ever. It’s a complex process within the temporal lobe (a region of the brain just above the ear) and sometimes it just works like magic. I can see a face for a fraction of a second and identify it days later. It’s my superpower but I don’t know what to do with it yet, apart from shouting out loudly during movie nights. Who knows, it might reveal its purpose in due time. Shall I contact Scotland Yard?

Meantime, what’s your superpower?

January 26, 2023March 31, 2023

Manifest

“Just say what you want and it’ll happen.”

Since a 2020 TikTok trend (of course) involving ‘putting stuff out there into the universe’ we’ve all been talking about manifesting things to make them happen in our lives. It’s pseudo science, no doubt, but as with most trends there’s something intriguing about it.

I’ve always believed that words have power. Saying something out loud is often cathartic or even painful – it makes things real. Hence the fear around a curse and the relief in a blessing. When words are out, they can’t be taken back. Speaking over someone bears a lot of responsibility and we all bear the burden of taking care of one another (not to mention ourselves).

So surely there’s something in the idea? Here’s a weird one: when I finally started this blog and website in late 2020, I also joined Twitter and took ages pondering what my short bio should be. In the end I chose three words: writer, reader and chocolate-eater. Now what’s weird about that? I hear you ask. Sure everyone eats chocolate. Yes indeed. That’s not the weird part. At that point I was a secret writer and read books as a delicious past time. But fast forward mere months later and I had secured an agent for my writing and got a job with an organisation called The Reader. It was as if I had manifested those two words into my life by writing them down and sending them into the world.

But let’s not get carried away because apparently too much of a good thing is actually bad. Who knew? Psychologists suggest a balance between self-belief and self-delusion. Manifesting can bring nasty feelings of failure and disappointment, or even judgement of others. So the science tells us to watch what we say, remain positive as much as possible and get clear on what we want. Self-fulfilling prophecies are a thing so maybe, just maybe, our hopes and plans will fall into place.

January 7, 2023March 31, 2023

What’s New?

As the New Year settles in I’ve been noticing various trends for newness or openness. ‘New Year New You’ has become ‘New Year Same You’ (much less stressful). I like this idea. January is dark enough without adding resolutions and impossible-to-achieve goals. But lists are fun; they involve pens and nice stationery and make you feel busy and important.

So here’s my New Year list. Hope it’s helpful.

1. Identify your favourite things (cats, books, trees, for instance) and spend more time with them

2. Swing wildly between complete sobriety and clumsy tipsiness. Everything in moderation, remember

3. Say no to events that involve PEOPLE 

4. Then feel a bit lonely and regret it

5. Wear whatever you want

6. Then feel a bit self-conscious and regret it

7. Find a cause that you believe in and devote yourself to it - reward from the effort expended is sweet indeed

8. Tell the people in your life that you love them (if you do, that is, otherwise just continue to tolerate them and throw the odd eye roll in their direction)

9. Move around as much as you can - stretch, dance, twist. Your body will thank you

10. Write down secret things. The letter to someone who hurt you (don’t send it, obviously), the journal of deep thoughts, the list of hopes and dreams

11. Read as much poetry as you can handle. But approach with caution: it will magically work its way into the darkest sections of your heart and open doors you thought were long-closed.

12. Find someone to look up to. Think ‘when I grow up I want to be like insert name’

13. Listen to music. But that’s all. Close your eyes and just listen. But see number 11 above and approach with caution (your heart may not be ready to hear)

14. Sit by the fire and congratulate yourself on your many years of acquired wisdom

December 9, 2022March 31, 2023

Good For You

Isn’t it marvellous when good stuff happens to other people? No, seriously, isn’t it? Good for you, we cry, stifling an eye roll and forcing our mouths into a smile. It’s often hard to do, but what if we started to practise freudenfreude? This new word is the opposite of schadenfreude, its more famous (and darker) sister. It allows us to feel happy when someone else succeeds. And apparently, if we get really good at it, we can feel that sense of bliss even when we’re not involved with the person. Something good happens to a complete stranger and we get all happy? I don’t think I’m there yet. To be honest I find schadenfreude far too delicious and enjoyable. It just tastes so good.

So the past couple of weeks I’ve been experiencing freudenfreude first hand with close friends and, I have to admit, it’s starting to feel good. First up, my bestie, Katy, only went and won a BBC competition to appear on Strictly and then The One Show. I dropped my phone when the message came through. And when I saw her dance with (insert name of the famous Strictly person here, I want to say George?) I got all teary-eyed and proud. Katy was confident in front of the camera, funny and warm and talented. If the BBC has any sense it will snap her up immediately.

Then I was invited to the launch of an art exhibition featuring my new chum Nina and her amazing paintings. Sipping the wine and hob-nobbing with artsy types and looking more closely at her talent, I had that feeling again. It was lovely.

It might be trickier to celebrate when the person isn’t known to me, or if they get something I wanted (hey, that’s not fair!) or if I’m in a bit of a slump and my inner critic is making snarky comments, but I’m working on the empathy muscle that allows me to find joy in someone else’s success. The more practice I get in, the easier it’ll be. And that can only be a good thing.

November 24, 2022December 9, 2022

Lost and Found

I lost my favourite scarf last month. I’d spent days looking everywhere for it: under the bed, in the campervan, in the shed, but it had just vanished. And as the days grew colder I missed it even more. It’s just the right size (one size does not fit all, not really) and the colours always cheer me up. It’s also been all around the world with me in our Big Year Out in the van so I’m emotionally attached to the thing. I was just getting to the point of letting it go when, you’ve guessed it, there it was. I visited an old family cottage in the north coast as a birthday treat and it was languishing (attractively) on the chaise longue by the window. I found it when I wasn’t even looking for it.

And then to top it all off I wandered into a secondhand bookshop and there on a shelf was a literature book I recognised from my university days. Smiling, I picked it up and opened the front flap, thinking I’d jog my memory about what was inside. Reader, it was my VERY OWN COPY. There in teenaged handwriting was my name. I last opened those pages in 1994. It had obviously been upset to be given away and had relentlessly tracked me down ever since. I held it to my chest and whispered sorry. Needless to say I bought it and have added it to my library once more. Another lost item that I found without even trying.

I think I try too hard for all sorts of things. Trying to make a success of writing, trying to find a healthy life balance, trying to foster good friendships. But so often life just falls into place when you least expect it. Some things flourish when they’re left alone a bit (plants do this too, for some reason I still cannot fathom, I definitely try too hard to keep the damn things alive) so I’m trying to hold life more gently. After all, if I grasp onto it too hard, there’s a chance I’ll choke it, so I’m letting life breathe around me. I’ll walk among trees, I’ll notice more, I’ll stroke my cat’s soft face and not seek anything else in that moment. Oh and I’ll wrap my scarf around me and hold onto my books, knowing that even if I lose them again, they’ll find their way back to me in the end.