brain fog

Air? Take a walk outside. In fact, I'm getting it now so I will excuse myself.

Absentminded, forgetful, . . . Holy crap, I think you've diagnosed my problem. I'm a 65-year-old pregnant man!

Age ain't got nothin to do with it.

I'm apparently a 25-year-old pregnant man.

My advice:

switch to another story. Write a short story that's completely unrelated. Research and write a blog entry. Write a poem.

If you obsess about the brain fog, you'll get foggier. trust me. I live in a brain fog sometimes. but that's what I do. Good luck!

As counter to the common writer's wisdom as it may be, I'd recommend taking a break from that story. Not necessarily for the next three months, but for a few days at least -- don't think about or work on it at all. Then you can look at it with a fresh eye. That always works for me.

FYI, "pregnant brain" draws to mind some pretty disgusting imagery o_0

To a science fiction writer, that 'pregnant brain' could be called inspiration...

I know how you feel--or how your brain does, at least. I had some downtime today when I could have written but I was just too exhausted--I think it's the cold. I'm getting oxygen-starved from my stuffy nose.

See if you have any notes you can write with, or a really easy scene you could do. Sometimes it helps just to put to characters together and have them do something--anything. The scene might not go anyway, but at least you're writing.

Or take a break. One day without writing won't cause irreparable harm. One hour without writing certainly won't (as I tell myself...). It's not like you don't have an excuse.

Call it a vacation. Read a good book

I have fibromyalgia and there is a symptom that is actually called 'brain fog'. If I have a bowl to go in the sink and a napkin to go in the trash, I'll throw the napkin in the sink and the bowl in the trash. Or the microwave will beep and I won't remember putting anything in it. There are so many examples....

Usually I do just take a break. I also do take a lot lot of notes. I write down everything, because I don't know if I'll be able to remember things later. Maybe in a moment of clarity, you could bulk up on your notes, it really helps when the brain stops.

But yeah, when it's really foggy, I just stop. Sometimes eating helps. Or napping. I also try to take advantage of times when my mind is clear. I could be watching TV and thinking and realize - oh, my brain is working good right now - and I shut off the TV and write. You may have to succumb to working on your brain's schedule instead of your own.

Good luck! =)

I get tired a lot lately because I try to write after coming home from work. I just try to rest a while longer before writing.

I'm absentminded and tired all the time. You just have to sit down, take a breath and relax, listen to music. Stuff like that :] Try writing something new?

What's, um...brain...what's brain f...um...you know, what you said.

zegota said:

As counter to the common writer's wisdom as it may be, I'd recommend taking a break from that story. Not necessarily for the next three months, but for a few days at least

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I did this. I looked at an old story, just for a break, now I'm full-on polishing four novels. When that's over I'll be happy to get back to the WIP.

Round John Virgin said:

Absentminded, forgetful, . . . Holy crap, I think you've diagnosed my problem. I'm a 65-year-old pregnant man!

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Hahahaha

I'm a firm believer in working through that fog, but sometimes you have to give yourself permission to have off-days. Just guard against allowing those off-days to become habit forming.

Playing the "what if" game usually helps me get past the stagnant moments. Other folk swear that journaling helps them jump-start when the neurons aren't firing.

I have fogs now and then, but I'm imagining nowhere near as bad as this.

I myself would recommend taking a break from the writing of this story...and if you still feel an intense urge to write, perhaps try writing something different. Not just a different plot or idea, but a different format altogether. Journaling was mentioned...maybe that, or creative writing exercises (since they're a bit more structured).

I notice I get this way more often in regards to reading than writing...pretty irritating.

Meh, just plow ahead. You can fix it after the baby's born, raised, and sent to college.

zeprosnepsid said:

I have fibromyalgia and there is a symptom that is actually called 'brain fog'. If I have a bowl to go in the sink and a napkin to go in the trash, I'll throw the napkin in the sink and the bowl in the trash. Or the microwave will beep and I won't remember putting anything in it. There are so many examples....

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Yep, that's me, too. Not fibromyalgia - I have a genetic collagen defect that causes a lot of problems, and brain fog is quite common with us. Unfortunately.

I plot in detail. Excrutiating detail. It's the only way I can keep track of everything and not re-plot the same damn thing ten times with the same damn brilliant throught. My plot outlines tend to be 40-50 pages with details like POV, foreshadowing that needs to be mentioned, who's in the scene, and so on. I create character names and place names ahead of time as much as possible.

I take copious notes of any new ideas. Copious notes. I can pretty much guarantee that without the notes, I won't remember in five minutes.

I figure out when my clearest time is and plan to write then. For me, that's 8-10am. 2pm and I'm so foggy I want to nap, and I'm pretty much done for the rest of the day.

Liam Jackson said:

I'm a firm believer in working through that fog, but sometimes you have to give yourself permission to have off-days. Just guard against allowing those off-days to become habit forming.

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Not always possible to work through the fog, but that also depends on how bad the fog is.

For me, when I'm at my worst-but-still-feel-somewhat-capable-of-doing-something, Fahim (the hubby and fellow writer) can really see the difference. He'll read something and ask me how bad I felt when I did that cuz obviously, I must have felt pretty lousy. I end up with incoherent stuff that doesn't really resemble English except that I still use words found in an English dictionary. I don't even try when I'm feeling like that anymore - it's a completely wasted effort.

If your brain fog days are really bad, I would strongly suggest discussing it with your doctor, being completely blunt about just exactly how bad it is to find out if there's something else going on. If it's normal pregnancy fog, then no worries.

L M Ashton said:

I figure out when my clearest time is and plan to write then. For me, that's 8-10am. 2pm and I'm so foggy I want to nap, and I'm pretty much done for the rest of the day.

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Yeah. I have fibro, and finding your time is important.

So is taking days off now and then. Writing is a job. Jobs are hard work. The weekend was invented for a reason. The way I figure it, four days of good, solid writing is as good as seven days, when three of those seven days involve mostly putting in the comma . . . and backspacing . . . and changing your mind and putting in the comma . . . and backspacing again . . . and feeling like a terrible writer because the story is not getting any longer.

Izunya