Do you ever hit a wall with your writing? Or get stuck with blank-page syndrome? This is a trick I learnt that may help. (Well, it may help you, because you are probably a proper writer, who rarely gets stuck: whereas I am a wannabe writer, and I have to use this ALL THE TIME.)
Switch your page colour to blue. That's it. Simples. And here's the science bit...
Apparently the meaning we put on colour is pretty subjective, and relates entirely to the culture we grew up in. Green is no more a calming colour than bright purple, it's just our culture thinks it is. But two colours in particular do impact the brain in a way that is globally universal, and those colours are blue and red.
When we look for a period of time at a red object, then it accesses the side of the brain that deals with logic (don't ask me which side that is, I always forget, because I am an artist and not a scientist. But it really does do this, so bear with.) When I need to sort out my tragic accounting, for instance, I make all the figures red until I can add up without bursting into tears.
Blue stimulates the other side of the brain, and makes you think in ways that are creative and free-floating. So I always write on blue paper. Unless I forget. And then I sit there, wondering why everything I'm writing is stodgy as hell. And then I remember the blue paper, and twenty minutes later I am zipping along.
You can take my word for this cos I heard it on Radio 4, and I'm a bit obsessed with colour and have done whole art projects on it, so I paid attention. Or you can try it for yourself and let me know how it goes.
Switch your page colour to blue. That's it. Simples. And here's the science bit...
Apparently the meaning we put on colour is pretty subjective, and relates entirely to the culture we grew up in. Green is no more a calming colour than bright purple, it's just our culture thinks it is. But two colours in particular do impact the brain in a way that is globally universal, and those colours are blue and red.
When we look for a period of time at a red object, then it accesses the side of the brain that deals with logic (don't ask me which side that is, I always forget, because I am an artist and not a scientist. But it really does do this, so bear with.) When I need to sort out my tragic accounting, for instance, I make all the figures red until I can add up without bursting into tears.
Blue stimulates the other side of the brain, and makes you think in ways that are creative and free-floating. So I always write on blue paper. Unless I forget. And then I sit there, wondering why everything I'm writing is stodgy as hell. And then I remember the blue paper, and twenty minutes later I am zipping along.
You can take my word for this cos I heard it on Radio 4, and I'm a bit obsessed with colour and have done whole art projects on it, so I paid attention. Or you can try it for yourself and let me know how it goes.
While I write a bit almost everyday, at the moment I've stalled, so I'm off to try this trick now 
