I've been continuing through The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards and I've found the information on right side of brain vs left intriguing. I studied psychology for a while at Uni and have always found the brain fascinating, especially the placement of different functions.
In this book, Edwards examples special cases where the right side of the brain has been severed from the left (an operation performed to assist severe epilepsy). In such instances, there are exercises the test subject undertakes (naming objects in drawings, solving spacial problems, etc) where the left and right hand will push each other out of the way, so that the side of the brain that is best at that task can take over.
The exercise was interesting too. Perhaps you've seen this optical illusion before - is it a vase or two faces?
Edwards uses this picture in her exercise. You trace the side that suites which hand you draw with (if you are right-handed, you start with the face on the left, and vice-versa).
Here is an image you could start with, I found these at a great art site called Raisin Toast:
Right-hand drawers
Left-hand drawers
The rest is simple. You trace over the existing drawing, naming out loud the parts as you go (forehead, eyes, nose, top lip, bottom lip, chin, neck). Then draw over the straight line at the top and try to go down redrawing the mirror image on the other side, also naming the parts. You may find your brain gets confused with the names - this is your right side and left side arguing!
This exercise also works if you draw your own vase-face. Fiction writers are often creative people who tend to favour the right side of their brain, but the logical and organised left side is also essential to crafting a good story - so we need to exercise both sides!
I'm up on my drawing, reading and notebook goals, but down on my typing up my manuscript goal - how are yours going?
