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Brain Dump: Post Conference Rewrap

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Eyes swollen                                                                 Check
Business card holder empty                                          Check
Brain swirling with a gazillion ideas                            Double check
Woke up an hour early to start my creative exploration?..............................................   
     













Woke up an hour early?............................................OOPs!           
           
At the NYSCBWI Conference, Illustrator, Tommie dePaola suggested we wake up early each day and begin our creative endeavors while the rest of the world sleeps.


His Theory: The brain is tired when you first wake up, but it's also free of outside stimulation. Therefore, if you start working the brain first thing in the morning, amazing new ideas will flow.


For me, not so much. I was tired, overloaded, and under exercised.
           I needed a BRAIN DUMP.
I dropped the kids off at school and went for a run. During that hour of running, I came up with ten solid blog posts, bought two dresses for my next conference, made a shopping list, decided to enter two writing contests, made up a 'To Do' list for the upcoming week, and a rough outline of a new book idea. (IPhones are AWESOME.)

Running or some type of exercise combined with fresh air stimulates my brain. I can dump the extra stuff floating around and really focus. 


But that's what works for me.


Creativity is a subjective business. What works for Tommie doesn't work for me. What works for me, may not work for you.


Other ways to Brain Dump: yoga, meditation, reading, sketching, journaling, staying up late, writing sprints, deadlines-self made or appointed, crowded places, quiet nooks, long walks, rainy days, car rides, yelling, crying, laughing, eating


How do you Brain Dump?


Write on,
Kim


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