Thursday, June 26, 2008

Relax – watch a movie!

Now, you must be thinking: I'm being told to read when I can't find the time to write, and now, I have to watch a movie, too?

Think about it: you might not be afraid of watching movies. After all, it's something that you can do every day. It's something that you can do without even batting an eyelash or using a brain cell! But that's the point: you don't always need to be brainless when watching a movie. You can turn your movie watching session into something productive: in fact, what you might be afraid of is a little bit of intellectual exercising while you're trying to relax.

No problem: these kinds of exercises won't come too often, and when they do, they're meant to relax your brain and make you have a bit of fun away from the writing. If watching movies isn't your thing, then go buy tickets to the nearest play or musical; or, if you really don't want to spend money, try your favorite TV show. If all else fails, watch people in the nearest cafe.

The key to these exercises is to step away from words and let your eyes do the thinking. You need to be visually stimulated, and you need new images that you can draw new stories from. You don't need to copy a movie's plot or make a spin-off of the next big show on Broadway. What you need is something to stimulate your mind and make you start seeing things in a new light.

Still bewildered? Wait for the next entry on reviewing movies and you might find yourself having a bit of fun!

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