Thursday, August 13, 2009

Jammin' Out to Ideas

I'm reading a book right now called, "The Imagineering Workout." In it, a bunch of imagineers offer exercises to bolster your creativity, or different ways to brainstorm.

One piece of advice that I thought was really neat (and really well-phrased) was this: "When in the car, don't jam out to tunes. Jam out to ideas!"

Our right-brains love driving. It involves so many meticulous details: check your speed, look in your mirrors, make sure you're not wandering from your line into the car next to you, check your speed again, switch lanes, etc. and so forth. And when our right-brains get so engaged in driving, it allows our left-brain (our creative brain) to drift.

On my drive home from the conference I decided to decompress with a 5 hour Idea Jam-Out, and drove almost the whole way home in silence. And it was awesome! I set my thoughts first on my novel, and my mind drifted all over my plot and the details of my world that I need to get straight before I query again. And then I let my mind just wander wherever it decided to take me. I reflected on the weekend, and where I would go next with all the motivation I absorbed from it. I thought about business school coming up (just found out I'm officially accepted...woo!), and my plan of action for becoming an imagineer.

It really was one of the best drives home from Southern California I've had (and I've made that drive a lot), and was kind of cathartic...who knew silence could be so much fun!

Does anyone else drive in silence, or have any other creative-idea tricks they'd care to share?

9 comments:

Corey Schwartz said...

Oh, interesting idea. Congrats on acceptance to business school!

Tyler said...

Thanks, Corey!

StaffPicks said...

Word up on the B-school, Tyler. You were probably silent because the guy you took to the airport wouldn't shut up. Blah blah.
Ha!
Thanks for the lift(s). |:~)

Christy Raedeke said...

I always drive in silence. Love it!

Congrats on graduate school acceptance and academic scolarships--pretty amazing feat! Novelist/Imagineer sounds like a great future.

Tyler said...

Thanks Christy! Yes, I could go for that combination! What would that be, Imaginautheer?

And that must have been it Paul, my ears were just ringing from all the blathering going on. Juuust kidding, I was more than glad to give you that ride.

Kimberly Derting said...

Congratulations on business school, I'm so excited for you!!!

And I *always* do my best plotting while I drive. And in the shower. Two places where it's really hard to make notes.

Tyler said...

Thanks Kim!

And I know, why is it that ideas come in hard-to-reach places? I think a waterproof whiteboard would be a good thing to have in the shower. I've also always wanted to invest in a voice recording device for the car, but haven't got around to it. For now, I keep a small notepad in the side pocket and scribble notes while I wander all over the road.

I'm going to get a DWI: Driving With Ideas.

LizR said...

This is so interesting, not to mention validating, haha, because I come up with some of my best ideas while driving (and taking a shower, as somebody else said, though doing the dishes is up there as well).

A friend of mine was telling me that when she comes up with a particularly good idea while driving, she calls her work phone when she hits a red light and leaves a message on her voice mail.

Congrats on business school, and good luck!

Tyler said...

Dishes are definitely another big one I've heard from a lot of people. And that's awesome that your friend makes a phone call at a red light with a really good idea!

I've been wanting to get my own voice recorder, but I've yet to do it.