Colouring outside the lines

I have spent a lot of time today contemplating this post. I knew that I had to come up with some fresh creative exercises. Unfortunately due to a bad case of hayfever, I had little to no sleep last night. Tired person = tired brain. So instead I went to my online creative clusters and trolled though the websites of writers and creatives on my favourites list. It resulted in a few surprising exercises coming to the foreground. Enough to do today’s post.

Strangely enough, I then got an email from one of my subscriptions about unlocking the potential of the right brain: the creative you or me. Intrigued I clicked through to the post and then read to the end. It fascinates me that in most articles about right brain vs left brain, all the writers, bloggers and experts tell us that the world we live in tell us to make the left brain more dominant.

Left Brain

Logical

Analytical

Realistic

Rule-Follower

Schedules

Lists

Right Brain

Intuitive

Impulsive

Risk Taker

Fantasy

Imagery

Visual

Above are just some of the differences between the right brain and left brain. We are told as children to stop day dreaming. We are told to focus. We are told to stop playing. We are told to never fail. We are told to follow all the rules. We are told to get our head out of the clouds and get back to reality.

Was this correct teaching? Or has all this pre-determined teaching instilled in us a dominance of reality and impaired us creatively. Cases could be made for both sides. But isn’t it uncanny how a child can believe that there is a mouse or a fairy that comes to collect children’s lost teeth at night. Yet as adults every time we catch ourselves slipping into a day-dream, we mentally tell our minds off and remind ourselves “that will never happen, it’s impossible or just a fantasy”.

A lot of articles on the net are trying to explore the “unlocking” of the right brain. Why you may ask? Isn’t it better to live a life based in only what’s probable then dream the impossible and maybe set our hopes too high? You might think it is. I don’t think it is. I think it is vital to dream impossible dreams and hold them as goals before you. Unfortunately to be a creative individual means, by society’s benchmark anyway, that we fall into that latter group. The dreamers. The fantasists. The day-dreamers. The hippies. The arty-fartys. The unstable ones. The emotional ones. Any of these labels have and will be used towards you if you fall into a creative group. Are you fearful of those labels?

So you are a writer, an artist, a photographer, a painter, a sculptor, a musician, any and all of the previous labels: So then you have the right brain unlocked then just by being focused on the creative. Right? No. The answer is that though you are a creative person (let me just use the term “artist” for all creatives from now on) you live in a left brain dominated world. How do I know that? How many times have you had raised eyebrows as a response when someone has asked you what you do and you have told them? Or maybe you have not even got the courage to voice what you do or who you are. Just because you maybe do an office job for 40 hours a week and work creatively all the other time that you are not sleeping does not make you any less of an artist. So let’s get that out-of-the-way! Say it now. We will practice:

What do you do? (Picture a bland face looking at you waiting for the answer)

Now, don’t think, don’t hesisitate:

Answer: I am a ______________. (Fill in the blank with writer, artist, painter, sculptor,photographer,graphic book author,cartoonist,musician.)

Now pat yourself on the back. Was that the first time you said it aloud? Be proud of yourself, admitting it is the first step to success and authenticity.

So are there exercises or tools we can use to unlock the right brain in ourselves? Is there a way to allow ourselves to colour outside the lines of society’s “normal and accepted” which hardly ever included creativity unleashed? Well I have spent the afternoon researching this for both myself and for this post. Here is what I came up with:

LaTeral ThiNking

This is a process that allows you to see things in a different way and to express them uniquely. So for this week, the lateral thinking exercises are:

• Spend an evening doing some riddles.
• Go and get yourself some 3d pictures and practice 3d watching.

Here are some riddles to start out on. Think about them and if you think you have them figured out, type your answer in the comments. I will post some clues throughout the week. Next week Monday I will post the answers to these riddles.

Riddle # 1: A man lives on the seventeenth floor of an
apartment building. Every morning he takes
the lift down to the ground. In the evening he
goes into the lift and if it is raining he goes
directly back to the seventeenth floor.
Otherwise he goes to the tenth floor and
climbs up seven flights of stairs.

Riddle #2: A man walks into a bar and asks for water.
The bartender pulls out a gun and points it at
him. The man says, “Thank you,” and walks
out.

Riddle #3: A landlord is threatening to evict a father

and his beautiful young daughter, unless she

agrees to marry him. There are a lot of

witnesses and in a false gesture of sincerity,

he offers her an opportunity to remain in the

house without marrying him. He has a silk

bag in which he says he has placed a white

and a black stone from the footpath on which

they’re standing. If she picks the white stone

from the bag, then she wins; if she picks the

black, she loses. However, the young girl saw

him place two black stones in the bag. She

can’t accuse him of cheating, because he

would say that his good question was called

into question and storm off without showing

the bag. How does the clever girl win?

Riddle #4: A man is alone on an island with no food

and no water, yet he does not fear for his life.

Riddle #5: A man managed to visit over thirty foreign

countries without his passport. He was

welcomed in each country and left each one of

his own accord. He did this in one day.

Puzzle # 1 Look at the below words for a while. Say them in your mind. Now repeat them out aloud. Did you get all the words correct?

Green

Red

Blue

Pink

Orange

Purple

Black

Writing Exercise #1 What’s another word for it?

Each day of the week, pick a word  and play with it.

Monday: Begin with the word creative. Intially think of as
many words that come to mine when you focus on the
word. Then take each of those and visit a thesaurus
and see how many words you can generate or find in 15
to 30 minutes. Review the words when your time has
ended. What did you discover that was new to you?
What patterns do you find?

Tuesday: Begin with the word dull. Do the same as above.

Wednesday: Pick up a newspaper and randomly pick 6 words and do
the same thing as you did with creative and dull.

Thursday: Listen to a radio for 5 to 10 minutes and list words
you hear randomly. Then pick 6 of them and do the
same thing.

Friday: Look at billboards or other forms of environmental
communication and choose 6 and use the same process.

What did you discover over the week?
Did you control your thougths or were they directed
randomly or intuitively?

Writing Exercise #2 Cliche stretching – I have listed cliches here. The exercise is simple using only these cliches, write a piece of flash fiction or a story plot.

a bad scene add insult to injury agree to disagree all things considered all too soon along these lines ample opportunity armed to the teeth as a matter of fact at a loss for words at one fell swoop avoid it like the plague awaiting further orders  back at the ranch back to the drawing board bated breath beginning of the end before you know it benefit of the doubt best-laid plans better late than never better left unsaid beyond the shadow of a doubt bite the bullet bitter end bone of contention bottom line budding genius burning question busy as a bee by leaps and bounds by the same token calm before the storm call of the wild casual encounter chain reaction charged with emotion checkered past cherished belief circumstances beyond my control clear as crystal come full circle contents noted cool as a cucumber curiously enough cut a long story short cut down in his prime days are numbered dead as a doornail deafening crash depths of despair diamond in the rough dig in your heels do not hesitate to drastic action due consideration each and every easier said than done eat, drink, and be merry eminently successful engage in conversation epic struggle even tenor exception that proves the rule existing conditions express one’s appreciation fall on bad times fall on deaf ears far and wide far be it from me fateful day fate worse than death feel free to feel vulnerable festive occasion few and far between final analysis finishing touches fit as a fiddle food for thought fools rush in foregone conclusion foul play from the sublime to the ridiculous generation gap give the green light to go down the drain goes without saying good team player grave concern green with envy grim reaper grind to a halt hands across the sea happy pair hastily summoned have the privilege heartfelt thanks heart of the matter heart’s desire heated argument heave a sigh of relief herculean efforts hook, line, and sinker hook or crook hope for the future hot pursuit hunker down ignorance is bliss ill-fated immeasurably superior in close proximity infinite capacity innocent bystander in no uncertain terms in our midst in reference to in short supply in the limelight in the nick of time in the same boat with in the twinkling of an eye in this day and age into full swing irony of fate irreplaceable loss it dawned on me keep options open labor of love lashed out at last analysis last but not least last-ditch effort leaps and bounds

leave no stone unturned leaves much to be desired leave up in the air lend a helping hand let well enough alone line of least resistance little woman lit up like a Christmas tree live and let live lock, stock, and barrel long arm of the law look before you leap  marked contrast matter of life and death mecca for travelers method to his madness milk of human kindness miraculous escape moment of truth momentous occasion monumental traffic jam moot point more than meets the eye more the merrier motley crew narrow escape nearest and dearest needs no introduction never a dull moment never before in the history of nipped in the bud no sooner said than done one and the same ongoing dialogue on more than one occasion open secret order out of chaos other things being equal outer directed overwhelming odds own worst enemy pales in comparison paralyzed with fright paramount importance pay the piper peer group pet peeve pick and choose pie in the sky pinpoint the cause pipe dream place in the sun play hardball play it by ear poor but honest powder keg powers that be pros and cons proud heritage proud possessor pull one’s weight rack and ruin ravishing beauty red-letter day regrettable incident reigns supreme reliable source remedy the situation right on ripe old age round of applause sadder but wiser saw the light of day scathing sarcasm sea of faces seat of learning second to none select few selling like hotcakes shattering effect shift into high gear shot in the arm sigh of relief silence broken only by silhouetted against the sky simple life skeleton in the closet snug as a bug in the rug social amenities spectacular event spirited debate stick out like a sore thumb stick to one’s guns straight and narrow path structure one’s day such is life superhuman effort supreme sacrifice sweat of his brow sweeping changes sweet sixteen take the bull by the horns telling effect terror stricken thanking you in advance there’s the rub this day and age those present throw a monkey wrench throw a party throw caution to the wind tie that binds time of one’s life tongue in cheek too funny for words too numerous to mention tough it out tower of strength trials and tribulations trust implicitly uncharted seas unprecedented situation untimely end untiring efforts vale of tears vanish into thin air watery grave wax eloquent/poetic weaker sex wear and tear whirlwind tour wide open spaces words fail to express word to the wise wrought havoc

So I hope your Mental Muscles are feeling stretched. This week is all about refocusing our right brain and allowing yourself to colour outside the lines and for that to be ok.

All of these exercises were found on various lateral thinking and creativity sites. I take no credit for them, only for sharing them as tools and exercises that I have found handy today.

Enjoy colouring outside the lines this week.

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