How to Use Both Sides of Your Brain to Get to Know Your Characters

Human beings have two sides to the brain, which control the opposite side of the body. In addition, the left side performs tasks that have to do with logic, while the right side handles creative endeavors. 

Most of the time, my characters reveal themselves to me as I begin to write a story. Occasionally, though, I reach a place where I start to doubt how well I know my character. The left hemisphere of my brain kicks in and suddenly wants to take charge, elbowing my right hemisphere out of the way. As a result, the left side puts a kink in the hose of my creativity, and I find myself stuck.

When the left side of my brain becomes bossy, it helps to find innovative ways to bypass it to reach the artistic right side of my mind.

Here’s a fun exercise that tricks the left hemisphere into allowing the right region to speak up. It requires two different colored writing utensils and paper. A keyboard cannot be used to complete this exercise.

I recommend going to someplace other than where I spend most of my time because the change in scenery helps me ease into a different state of mind. I like coffee shops because there are no chores to distract me, and I find the ambient noise relaxing. I order myself a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant to put myself in a receptive mood. As I sip my beverage and nibble on my pastry, I think about the character who has suddenly gone mute. I might picture how she physically looks or hone in on the feeling I experience when I think about her.

After I finish my croissant, I take one of my colored pens in my dominant hand, and I write a question addressed to my character. For example, I may write in blue ink: “How are you today, Cochise Redenbacher?” I then take the other colored pen in my non-dominant hand and write an answer. I don’t think about the answer; I just write the first thing that comes to mind in purple ink. It’s like warming up when I go to the gym by spending the first ten minutes jogging on a treadmill. I may write something such as, “I’m feeling a tad under the weather. I went to an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch, and I ate way too many green-and-yellow eels.”

I repeat this process, continuing to ask my character questions until I feel complete with the exercise, which is anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes.
If I begin to take the exercise too seriously and overthink my answers, I’ll put down my pen, stretch, and pick up the pen again. I may also try asking a silly question or two in order to distract myself from overthinking my character’s answer.

I find that as I complete this exercise, unexpected information comes through my non-dominant hand through my character. In answering a question about my character’s least favorite color, my character might respond that she doesn’t like dark green because her older brothers once held her down and put a frog in her mouth. I also might ask my character a direct question, such as, “Why are you avoiding unlocking the hidden door now that you found the missing key?” Again, go with the first response that comes to mine, which might be the character admitting that she doesn’t want the mystery to end because it has added excitement to her otherwise humdrum life.

When I finish the exercise, I like to reread what I’ve written while it’s fresh because my character’s penmanship through my non-dominant hand might leave something to be desired. I can also make notes to clarify, and I can jot down ideas that come to mind from reading my character’s responses. It’s not unusual for this information to seem new to me as I read it with the left side of my brain because during the last hour I wrote it down using the right side of my mind.

I feel no obligation to use everything my character shared during the exercise; however, some of her responses might lead me to another idea for her backstory or a new plot point. The main objective of the exercise is to move past the inner editor of the left hemisphere and let the muse of the right region out to play.

I also use this exercise for personal development, as well. I might use it to get in touch with my subconscious to understand why I’m experiencing so much resistance to writing daily or discover ways to bring inspiration back to my job or spiritual life.

Pull out your calendar now and schedule a day and time to try this exercise. Please share your experience in the comments section of this post.