Brain and Brawn: Let the Crazy Child Write

By: Uzo Onukwugha
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:34
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“We have two mental softwares in one brain. Right (intuitive) and left (intellectual) brain. Both sides of the brain process information in totally different fashion which determine your writing out-put. The child’s play of the right brain generates creative ideas while the left brain seriousness is the editor. You must let the crazy right brain write freely and allow the left to do the corrections later.” –Uzo Onukwugha

Writing is thinking and thinking is meditation when you’re not thinking. This is because you’re thinking with your intuitive mind. In other words, the creative juice should flow effortlessly without writer’s block. The block is the rational mind interfering with the flow of creative juice from reaching your hand and pen. To overcome this barrier, you must maintain an open channel of communication between the heart and the head. To do this, you have to prime your creative pump before you can turn on the inspiration button. This is done by routine meditation and visualization. When you do this, the crazy child will go wild with writing in your chosen genre.

The mistake must beginning writers make is that they stifle the crazy child and prevent him from self-expression and freedom needed for creative writing to flourish. When you free your mind, your creativity naturally follows. It is a natural law that order must come out of chaos. You cannot have a well-polished writing in one sitting even if you're an experienced writer. To avoid rigidity and stiffness, you must tap into your origin (intuitive mind) if your originality must flow and flourish. Thus good writers are made in re-writing after the crazy child has done his thing.

The crazy child is a metaphor for the intuitive right brain that is responsible for creativity and productivity. Call him your spiritual hard-drive, if you may. He is responsible for all innovative ideas, witty inventions, creative writing, imagination, story telling, and artistry—just to name but a few. The crazy child has an opponent called the left brain. It's like nothing the crazy child writes make sense to the logical left brain. Yes, the greatest hindrance to your success in writing is the left brain monkey chatter. It will always come up with all the things you did not do right.

The left brain critic is there to oppose whatever the crazy child does. It is the reading, writing, arithmetic and analytical part of us that depends on intelligence rather than wisdom to lead us through life. It's like the left brain brings checks and balances to whatever the crazy child does. Thus this rational brain is the proofreader and editor to all that the crazy child writes.

The crazy child thinks in holographic time and has no idea of spatial orientation. This creative genius (for there’s genius in every child) sees the larger picture. It also sees the end from the beginning much like a chess player seeing all aspects of the board. On the other hand, the left brain critic sees the fine details. It’s like being too close to the tree that you can’t see the forest. Its component is anchored in linear time: past, present and future.

When young children were tested at the age of two, they showed high degree of abstract thinking and creative imagination in 85% of cases. When the test was repeated at the age of seven, after the kids began school, only 15% of them retained their abstract thinking and imagination.

This test showed that the left brain function which is emphasized by the school system and the linear world tends to inhibit the creativity of the crazy child. This is because of heavy emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic which is taught in the school system. Even then, children can’t learn without pictures. It is only natural because the mind can only think in pictures. This is part of us that yearns to be released during creative writing process. Now, you need to prime your creative pump before you get your inspiration back as adults. Know that without impression, there is no expression. It's like using the old computer programming language, GIGO (Good In, Good Out). Therefore, priming the mind involves research, seeking, brainstorming and asking the right questions. This is done by redirecting the mind on what to think about and forcing it to come up with answers within a designated time limit.

Priming is both an art and engineering word. In art, you prime your canvas with special paint before you begin painting. In Engineering, you have to prime the pump by pouring in a little quantity of water before you get a windfall. Why? Because it works by suction pressure. The same thing applies to your creative juice. You must prime the intuitive right brain by challenging your imagination--the drawing board of the mind--through meditation.

All school of Psychology believe that without playfulness of the right brain, there is no creative writing. It is the right brain that originates ideas and comes up with different alternatives. For instance, I normally take half of my time brainstorming catchy titles (for book, or article). After then, I can come up with the outlines that tie into the main title. Later, the left brain can come up with focused intent to decide the one I might have to develop.

Thus creativity is a child’s play while focus is the adult’s game. Creativity is coming up with varieties while focus is concentrating on one of them to the exclusion of the rest. However, we need the whole brain for effective and well-rounded writing. But first, you must let the crazy child write, if not intermittent writer’s block is the norm. Remember that creativity does not translate to money until you go through the process of polishing, packaging and presenting your ideas for the ‘real world’ marketplace. Otherwise your ideas will die as a pipe dream.

Uzo teaches the inner game of business success with emphasis on mental dynamics. Visit his site at: http://www.weblinkbusiness.com and subscribe to his newsletter.

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