How to Exercise an Open Mind - Wiki

Here's another wiki (website resource we can all contribute to) that took me off my trail just long enough to get refreshed:

Simply put, all one needs to grow his/her brain is to do unique, random, different, and ridiculous things as often as possible. One hour of increased brain activity via thinking a lot or experiencing new stimuli can make you smarter, more energetic, more creative, and more sociable. Here are some of the endless numbers of activities that can stimulate your brain. The one key ingredient is to have an open mind. - How to Exercise an Open Mind

You'll see a list of tips and suggestions, with links.

One of my favorites is #4.
It reminds me of a writing exercise (also great for actors), that asks you to memorize as many details in a given location as you can (for example, while you're waiting at the bank or post office), including colors, lighting, sounds, shapes, textures, etc., not just naming "chair," "table," "door," which are too simple and nondescript.

This helps to build variety in your sensory memory which you'll use each time you need to build a character or event. Just like painters who add and combine more colors on their palette, you'll be adding more choices.

Enjoy!

Songwriters - Broaden Your Musical Horizons - Wiki

[First of all, what is a "wiki"? By definition, it's "a website or similar online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively."]

Broaden Your Musical Horizons contains a list of easy-to-do activities to Goose Your Muse. (And you can add your own suggestions too.)

The first one on the list is "Listen to Internet radio stations." Let me suggest two that I enjoy and may have mentioned to you before:

Whole Wheat Radio (located in Alaska, plays indie singer/songwriters, shuns current hits)

Radio Paradise (eclectic online rock)

And yes, you can submit your original songs to them for "airplay." Check out the quality of what they're already playing, to see if you fit in.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - the Web Site

I heard several years ago about Betty Edwards and her hugely popular, ground-breaking book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

She's credited with making the "secrets of how to draw" more accessible to the masses, helping any of us who wants to learn by using simple exercises to help us see better.

Now she has a web site, drawright.com. Check out the sketches from some of her beginning art students (click Gallery), showing how they first drew their own self-portraits, compared with the improvements they made in only a few days.

Also, here's the new version of her classic book:



Enjoy!