Last week on Writing Wednesday we spoke about the importance of getting physical when battling writer’s block. It’s not just physical fitness, however, that is important in boosting your brain power. Keeping your mind active and pushing your thoughts outside of their comfort zone is key in maintaining and enhancing the elasticity of your brain. Keep writing into old age by following these easy tips.
The Warm-Up
1) Apply the Alphabet
Everyone can say the alphabet, and maybe even do it backwards. But applying an actual word to all twenty-six letters as you go up and down will not only help your vocabulary but warm up your brain for the rest of your workout. The hardest part is remembering what you said for “A” after you’ve gone to “Z” and back!
2) Get Specific
Saying any old word that starts with a specific letter is an easy task, but what happens when you narrow down your possibilities? Expand your character name bank or descriptive powers by choosing only proper nouns or adjectives as you go up and down the alphabet.
Keep It Going
3) Switch It Up
Now that you’ve warmed up your brain, you need to keep it active over the course of your day. Switching up parts of your daily routine that are usually no-brainers, like using the opposite hand to pour your cup of coffee or brush your teeth, will ensure that you stay mentally stimulated even when doing simple tasks.
4) Test Your Memory
The reason we suggest using your non-dominant hand for easy tasks is because you usually operate off muscle memory, rather than active brain power, to complete them. Now that you’re thinking rather than just doing, it’s time to switch it up and see how your memory alone can function without any visual cues. Try flipping your television remote upside down and see if you can instinctively figure out what buttons you need to push to find the programming you want. Is your muscle memory a little shaky? Try actively picturing what the other side of the remote would look like to help get the job done.
The Cool-Down
5) Focus Your Energy
Now that your creative juices are flowing, put your active mind to good use. By thinking exclusively on a particular subject for a full half hour you are taking advantage of your brain at its peak, resulting in some possible insight into a sticky plot point! Whether you write down the ideas you generate or simply think about them as you go about your regular activities, this ability to harness your brain power will help keep your writing flowing and prevent the nastiness of writer’s block.
