That's Not The Word's - Creative Exercise 23

Introduction

    CAFFEINE FOR THE CREATIVE MIND: 250 EXERCISES TO WAKE UP YOUR BRAIN is a fantastic book to have in your library for the ideation process. Stefan Mumaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield have done a great job of putting together a plethora of exercises for business and creative professionals.

    This week's exercise involves one of my favorite hobbies, writing lyrics. I have been writing lyrics since I was a child in grade school, specifically rap and poetry. I have used this as a creative outlet my entire life.

    This exercise is called “That’s Not The Words”. “That’s Not The Words” explains that our brains remember music, and while music is playing, everything else that we are supposed to remember goes right down the drain.

    In this exercise, we are to pick an object that is in our surroundings. When the chosen object is solidified, we are to take the melody that has been stuck in our heads and turn it into a song about the chosen object. If the tune is absent, we can select any song.

    If for some reason you fall in love with this exercise you can write other parts of the song. You can interchange the parts going from introduction, chorus, and verse, and if you like it that much, you can add a bridge. Get creative!

That’s Not The Words

I speak to all of them through you

Amplifying my stance

Sometimes your cord is wrapped tightly

Secured in my right hand

Black and silver in dressings

Swinging in circles impressing

Large crowds

My message reaches out no doubt

In intimate moments you’re up on a stand

Center of attention captivating fans

A prop, a staple of the industry

Instrumental to the brand

Up in your own zone

Or dancing with friends

Conclusion

    I had fun with this exercise. As I said previously, these creative exercises help me out a lot in my personal and professional endeavors. I have come to enjoy them instead of viewing them as a task that HAS to be done for a school assignment. They really bring out your creative side, and there are not very many rules. This one included something I truly love in life, and I actually write about many subjects almost every day. When you take an object or subject and write a song, poem, or paragraph about it, it forces you to tune in on the details and the function of it. This is how you put the song together. You need these details to tell the story. Without these details, you will be using filler words. We want the meat and potatoes!