We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leon Conrad a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

It was the enchantment woven by sounds and letters that first led me into the world of stories, books, wordcraft, and the magical power of the spoken and written word.

A: Apple Pie, B bit it; C cut it …

Every night from as early as I could appreciate story, sounds flowed. A story was told.

I was four when my love of stories, of books, of reading was able to flourish, when I could read by myself, but it wasn’t the early primers that stood out for my parents when I was that age.
I found nothing in those ‘Janet and John’ type books that was worth waking my parents up for.
The Children’s Encyclopedia, however, was a different thing entirely.

It was four o’clock in the morning when I burst into their bedroom, eager to share my most recent discovery.
I jumped on their bed, and shouted, “Mummy, Daddy, you’ll never guess how they put the wheels on railway engines!”
“Go back to sleep, Leon.”
“No, but they turn them upside down!”
“Go away. It’s too early.”
And so I went back to read more articles from Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encylopedia, puzzling at how grown-ups could fail to be interested in something so fascinating.

Letters and sounds unlocked a whole world for me.
I was lucky. I could read easily. As a pianist, I can sight read almost anything that you put in front of me, including vocal scores for operas.

I scan read for information. I read more slowly for enjoyment. Somewhere along the way, however, I had to learn how to read critically. Mortimer Adler’s ‘How to Read a Book’ proved to be an invaluable guide. As a tutor, I encourage students to engage with the SQ3R technique of reading. There are different versions of what the acronym stands for. Mine is: Scan, Question, Read, Retell, Review, as telling someone about something you’re interested in helps make it stick in your memory.

It’s probably best to avoid doing that step at four o’clock in the morning, though.

Leon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m someone who enjoys trying to find satisfactory answers to questions we don’t yet have satisfactory answers to.

As a writer and storyteller, I was puzzled by a passage in a book on narrative I read by H Porter Abbott, an author whose work I greatly admire. In his ‘Cambridge Guide to Narrative’, he said something like ‘what makes the story of Cinderella the story of Cinderella is a question we’ll never be able to answer definitively’.
How did he know? Did he have a crystal ball? There are at least a thousand versions of the Cinderella story identified to date, and we all know that Cinderella is no Darth Vader. So why shouldn’t we work out what makes the story of Cinderella recognisable as the story of Cinderella?
The answer can be found in my book, ‘Story and Structure: A complete guide’ which outlines 18 distinct story structures, looks at the story structure of poetic forms, and explains the common structure found underpinning the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ as well as the structure of a standard mathematical proof, and the structure of a well-crafted academic essay.
Winner of numerous literary awards, it sheds new light on story despite the fact that we’ve been telling stories for millennia.
The book invites you to rethink your idea of story.

As an editor and creative writing teacher, I work with established and early career writers to help them develop their individual style, explore interesting ways of using language, and help them dig deep into the world of ideas so they can express deep thoughts clearly, engagingly, and authentically.

Much of my work involves Story Structure Consultancy, helping writers at all levels become better writers instinctively, getting the shape of the story they want to tell right, avoiding plot holes, and finding an overall arc to individual characters’ story lines that will feel ‘right’ to the reader. Story structure work helps writing flow better.

As an educator, I specialise in working with gifted, talented, and profoundly gifted learners aged 7 to adult. One of the innovative approaches I use to evoke inspirational learning experiences is an Odyssey Grid which looks like a grid of visual candy: a pick-‘n’-mix display of topics and ideas through which students can take their own learning journey to reach a meaningful learning goal. On the way, they typically learn to think more critically, ponder more deeply, and express themselves more clearly, often learning much about themselves as they progress towards the end of their Odyssey Grid journey. Find out more in ‘Odyssey – Dynamic Learning System: An innovative guide to inspirational learning experiences’ by Leon Conrad and David Pinto.

If you look me up on Wikipedia, you’ll find that I also have an academic and practitioner’s interest in historic needlework, specialising in 16th- and 17th-century English embroidery techniques such as Elizabethan blackwork. I was the first person in 400 years to correctly decode the way in which a complex Elizabethan goldwork stitch known as Plaited Braid Stitch was worked. It is partly due to this that my brand is largely black-and-gold themed.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The best way I can describe the rewards that creativity brings – and the discipline that it demands – is through a Zen poem that tells a story of a farmer working his fields to bring his crop to harvest and a potter working with clay and wheel to create solid, secure, functional yet beautiful pots for his clients to use. Without the grain, the pot cannot fulfil its purpose. Without the pot, the grain will go to waste.

Where full-grown grain meets perfect pot, you’ll find a sweet spot: a sense of fulfilment, of rightness, of harmonious existence.

Creativity or the practice of artistry lives in this sweet spot. Writing, for me, is about bringing art and craft together to provoke an ‘Aha!’ or a ‘Huh?!’ or an ‘Ahhhh!’

And don’t those make life that much more worth living?

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Think of the story of the vessel and the grain. Society is similar. Every society benefits from artists’ visions and their input; artists benefit from being able to contribute to society. How else can societies flourish? Without true artistic vision that speaks to the heart and uplifts the soul, how can we collectively thrive as human beings rather than simply survive?

Being part of a society involves being a citizen. All citizens have a duty and responsibility to other citizens. In every case, our best actions will be based on the universal values of truth, goodness, and harmony uniting to support the oneness of being. I believe that story is based firmly in these values. As I point out in my book, ‘Story and Structure’, stories of tricksters and dilemma tales serve a social purpose, provoking discussion and helping to build shared values that sustain thriving ecosystems, both artistic and social, for society is one of the most complex and worthwhile artistic works we can engage in creatively, is it not?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leonconrad.com
• Instagram: @LeonConradStory (https://www.instagram.com/leonconradstory/)
• Facebook: @LeonConradStory (https://www.facebook.com/LeonConradStory)
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-conrad/
• Twitter: @LeonConradStory (https://twitter.com/LeonConradStory)
• Youtube: @leonconradstory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGuRQuzQTAxUCaLeiyNqw0A)
• Other: SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@LeonConradStory
  MEDIUM: https://medium.com/@LeonConradStory
  GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/leonconrad
  GAB: https://gab.com/LeonConradStory
  AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Leon-Conrad/author/B00IW0LYLO
  AMAZON USA: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Leon-Conrad/author/B00IW0LYLO
  THREADS: https://www.threads.net/@LeonConradStory
  ETSY: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LeonConradDesigns

Image Credits

Portrait credit: Oleg Nachinkin
Story and Structure / History Riddles Cover Designs: Teresa Monachino
Master the Art and Craft of Writing Cover Design: Alexandra Allden
Odyssey Cover Design: Leon Conrad