Left Brain or Right Brain

Some people are logical, analytical and very good with numbers. Shapes & symbols are easily understood because they’re often used in language as well as math and science. Processing things in order of sequence, making lists, preferring organization and structure are important. The ability to pay attention to details as well as remembering the names of people and places is prevalent in these individuals. In other words, they are left brain dominant.

“Left brain people are more objective in the sense that they’re concerned with what’s outside of them; with the objective world.” - Bill Harris, Centerpointe

Others tend to go by feeling and intuition and are more likely to remember faces instead of names. Proverbial daydreamers, they can easily employ their imaginations and turn within to “see”. When calculating math problems, they don’t often work the problem out mathematically but find the answer intuitively. They seem to know, have a gut feeling about the right answer. Decision making is infused with this instinct; relying on gut feeling to remove themselves from uncomfortable situations or places. Music, art and creativity permeate their lives. Colors play a vital role as well by being used in associations and expressions both internal and external e.g.: “I felt blue this past Tuesday because the weather was so gray.” These are right brain dominant individuals.

“People who are right brain dominant are more concerned with the subjective; the internal world.” - Bill Harris, Centerpointe

What is intriguing about writing is that writing is known to be a left brain function but in order to write successfully, the right brain is also employed. The reason for this is that although the left hemisphere of the brain controls writing (grammar, punctuation, syntax), as writers we also invoke emotion, the senses, as well as color. This is where the right hemisphere steps in to lend a hand.

But how does this happen exactly? There is a bridge between the left and right hemispheres called the corpus callosum that allows the two hemispheres to communicate by connecting them together. So in a sense the corpus callosum is like a friendly messenger that allows two parties to speak to each other. When this happens the brain is functioning holistically. Even better is the fact that the more writers write, the more connections are made in the brain and the easier it is to write the next time.

So what if a writer is having difficulty with his/her writing? When this happens the writer may be entrenched in the left hemisphere. By turning within and activating the right hemisphere, the difficulty previously experienced may ease off. A good way to activate the right hemisphere is by listening to music - particularly Classical music like Mozart. Studies have shown that Classical music is beneficial for learning and memory because it has a positive effect on brain chemistry. Of course, not everyone likes Classical music so in that case Jazz, Blues, or Rock may work better depending on the preference of the writer.

As for me I listen to a variety of music from Classical to Goth to Rock to Symphonic Metal, depending on my mood and what is currently happening in the story.