Unless you’ve been living under a rock you already know about the intellectual internet gem TED.com. In case you don’t know about this treasure trove of ideas and information here is some information:
- It’s a nonprofit, devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short , powerful talks.
- It began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged.
- Today it covers almost all topics from science to business to global issues in more than 100 languages.
Their Mission Statement:
TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, we’re building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world’s most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.
I love TED Talks. I can spend hours listening to my favorite authors, film makers, artists, and musicians speak about what inspires them or why or stumbling upon a new gadget being demonstrated or an idea on how to solve a problem.
TED is great for many things but did you know that there are some talks on there that are perfect for us writers?
Listed below are 20 TED talks I have found that speak to the writer in me. Click on one and enjoy!
- Adventures is Twitter Fiction by Andrew Fitzgerald
- Designing Books is No Laughing Matter. Ok, it is. by Chip Kidd
- Everyday Moments Caught In Time by Bill Collins
- Finding The Story Inside the Painting by Tracy Chevalier
- How Books Can Open Your Mind by Lisa Bu
- Success, Failure, and the Drive To Keep Creating by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Tales of Passion by Isabel Allende
- The Clues To a Great Story by Andrew Stanton
- The Fringe Benefits of Failure by JK Rowling
- The Mystery Box by J.J. Abrams
- The Mystery of Storytelling by Julian Friedmann
- The Politics of Fiction by Elif Shafak
- The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
- The Technology of Storytelling by Joe Sabia
- What We Learned From 5 Million Books by Jean-Baptiste Michel & Erez Lieberman
- Where Does Creativity Hide by Amy Tan
- Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
- Writing is the Only Magic I Still Believe In by Jarred McGinnis
- Your Elusive Creative Genius by Elizabeth Gilbert
I hope you take some time to enjoy at least one of these talks and that it helps inspire and motivate you in some way.
You can access TED talks through your computer or through the google play store or apple play store.
Darla G. Denton 