Creating a piece of writing really exercises the brain. You can almost feel the muscle’s tension as you exert it trying to create a composition.
No matter what the piece of writing is, poetry, prose, paragraphs of reminiscing, fiction or fact. It all means flexing the mind.
What you write is not important. the important thing is simply to write something.
Write a paragraph about your neighbourhood. Write a couple of paragraphs about your shopping trip, who you met, who you talked with, the conversation you had.
Write some poetry. Try different styles of poetry, rhyme, rhythm, haiku. Again the vital step is writing something, not what it is or its style.
Write a review. Now here is a brain exercise of consequence. Critiquing a TV show or reviewing a book requires planning, organization, and sequential layout of ideas. Here again, remember it is your review, what you think, your reaction, your thoughts and nobody can label that as being bad, or wrong, or inadequate. Your opinion is a right as anyone else’s. It may not be as polished as the journalist who has been writing reviews for years, or the TV critic who writes professionally. But it has validity and there are people who will value it even though you aren’t a professional writer for a living.
Remember this is a strategy for engaging your mind and exercising it.
Two very important considerations about your writing:
- Write it, don’t judge it. Who cares if it isn’t something Hemingway might have written if it isn’t in the same league as James Joyce or Harper Lee. It’s you, and nobody can write ‘you,’ except you.
- Get it published. You don’t have to get it printed into hard copy and on shelves at Chapters or even for sale on Amazon, but you could. Take the easier route and send it out to friends as email. Of if you want to go ‘larger,’ get it posted on a website such as this one. We always welcome creative pieces from site visitors. So consider publishing on this site.
The crucial thing is that you write as a mental exercise. Avoid being self-critical or self-judging. Instead just try to write your thoughts in an organized structured way.
