Podcast Summary: LSE Literary Festival 2017 | Re-Wild Your Words

Podcast: LSE: Public lectures and events
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team
Speaker: Bridget Holding (Founder, Wild Words; Psychotherapist, Writing Tutor)
Date: February 25, 2017

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded as part of LSE's “Space for Thought” Literary Festival 2017, features Bridget Holding exploring the concept of "rewilding" in writing. Through a blend of psychological insight and practical advice, she examines how writers can reconnect with their instincts, bodies, and natural environments to make their words more vibrant, authentic, and "wild." The talk intersperses writing experiments, vivid anecdotes, and audience Q&A, emphasizing that storytelling is fundamental to human nature and survival—not a luxury.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining “Wild” and “Rewilding”

Time: [02:30]–[09:06]

• The term 'wild' is often misunderstood, ranging from positive (untamed, uncultivated) to negative (uncivilized, out of control).
• Bridget critiques the idea that wildness equals chaos or danger:
  “True wildness is about connection—to yourself, your writing, and your environment. When people say ‘wild’ to mean out of control, that’s a misuse and a corruption.”
  —Bridget Holding, [06:44]
• "Rewilding" in ecology means allowing places to be self-willed; in writing, it's about freeing words from unnecessary control and letting them flow from instinct.

2. Why Storytelling Matters—A Survival Mechanism

Time: [09:09]–[13:49]

• Storytelling isn’t a trivial pursuit—it is a fundamental human activity, crucial for processing experience and practicing problem-solving.
  “Storytelling is fundamental to how human beings survive and thrive. It’s not a luxury.”
  —Bridget Holding, [09:36]
• Strongly imagining or dreaming situations activates real neural pathways, serving as rehearsal for life scenarios.

3. Writing as Embodied, Instinctual Process

Time: [14:12]–[20:52]

• Just like animals respond to their environment instinctually, writers can produce their best work when tapping into physical sensations and emotions rather than overthinking.
• The body is integral:
  “The act of telling a story is the act of transferring your emotional experience… it’s a direct line from writer to character to reader.”
  —Bridget Holding, [24:00]
• You can write about Everest without climbing it, but you can't authentically write about anger or grief unless you’ve felt them.

4. The Power of Sensory Experience and Nature

Time: [30:40]–[35:00]

• Modern “nature writing” is vibrant, urgent, and political—not just serene countryside musings.

• Nature sharpens writers’ senses and deepens their sensory palette. Most writers create in artificial, “flat” environments; stepping outside unlocks richer writing.

  “Nature has so much to teach us as writers… If we want our writing to be full of movement, sound, smell, taste—then it’s a fantastic idea to be outdoors.”
  —Bridget Holding, [36:45]

5. Caged Writing: What Gets in the Way and How to Break Free

Time: [40:06]–[48:30]

• Modern life stifles instinct. We overthink instead of acting, leading to blocked, “caged” writing.

• Internalized critical voices—often from others—hinder our natural storyteller.

• Fear leads to safe, uninspired writing routines and limits creative risk.

  “Writer’s block is the stop of the flow of creativity by judgment, basically.”
  —Bridget Holding, [52:30]

6. Five Practical Ways to Rewild Your Words

Time: [48:30]–[55:30]

1. Cultivate Embodied Experience
   Engage your body—write after dancing, painting, acting, or any physical activity. Perform stories aloud.
2. Get Out into Nature
   Break out of your office; write outdoors and soak up real sensory data.
3. Make the Unconscious Conscious
   Examine weak spots in your writing for hidden emotional avoidance.
4. Write in Two Stages
   First, draft with zero judgment—pure instinct. Only edit, critique, and shape in the second stage.
5. Be Yourself, Trust the Process
   Stop “trying to be a writer”—just write the story that truly needs to be told from within.
   “Trust that because we’re natural storytellers, we know how to tell the story.”
   —Bridget Holding, [54:30]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Rewilding and Connection:
  “True wildness is about connection. Any time you talk about someone being wild, meaning out of control—that’s a misuse of the word.”
  —Bridget Holding, [06:44]

• On Storytelling’s Vital Role:
  “Storytelling saves lives. It really, really does.”
  —Bridget Holding, [55:25]

• On Creative Authenticity:
  “The best stories come out of people who trust their instinctual writer.”
  —Bridget Holding, [22:00]

• On Separating Process and Critique:
  “Write from the instinctual writer—no judging, no critic. Judgment is for the second draft.”
  —Bridget Holding, [52:30]

Notable Audience Q&A Segments

Writing from Experience: Dickinson & Brontë

Time: [56:47]–[58:10]

• Audience Member: How can sequestered writers like Dickinson and Brontë write so deeply?
• Bridget:
  “It’s the difference between experiencing events and experiencing emotions… You could live your whole life in one room and still understand those depths.”
  —[57:30]

Embodying Wildness in Urban Life & Practical Exercises

Time: [58:45]–[63:40]

• Q: How can city dwellers “rewild” when nature isn’t accessible?

• Bridget:
  “London is full of green spaces—and the wild tries to come back all the time. Observing that resilience is as powerful as being in the countryside.”
  —[61:04]

• Q: How to embody “wild” writing with academic or ‘dry’ story ideas?

• Bridget:
  “The answer is always to come back to the basic way of functioning—allow your body to write, even for academic subjects.”
  —[63:06]

Incorporating Wildness in Statistical/Academic Writing

Time: [64:25]–[67:39]

• Audience Member: Is it relevant in technical, academic, or statistics writing?
• Bridget:
  “At base, you’re taking your reader on an emotional journey—a problem to be solved and resolved—regardless of subject.”
  —[67:20]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:49] — Bridget Holding introduction & first writing experiment
• [06:44] — The real meaning of “wild” and dangers of disconnection
• [09:36] — The fundamental role of storytelling
• [13:49] — Physiological — why we tell stories
• [20:52] — Flow state: Natural versus blocked storytelling
• [36:45] — Advice: Nature as a teacher for writers
• [40:06] — The “caged” writer and how society blocks instinct
• [48:30] — Five methods to rewild your words
• [52:30] — First-draft instinct vs. second-draft critique
• [54:30] — On authenticity and trusting the process
• [56:47] — Audience Q&A: Dickinson, Brontë, and emotional experience
• [61:04] — Experiencing wildness in urban environments
• [63:06] — Academic/’dry’ writing and the instinctual process

Takeaway

Bridget Holding makes a stirring appeal for writers to reconnect with their bodies, instincts, and the natural world, arguing that true creativity is as much about animal instinct and emotional authenticity as it is about style and polish. The practical, grounded advice—interwoven with inspiring philosophy—offers not just professional but deeply personal guidance for anyone seeking to “rewild” their words.

"Storytelling saves lives. And it really, really does."
—Bridget Holding, [55:25]