Brain Fog Broke My Internal Editor
Fibromyalgia has impacted my ability as a writer, and I’m just starting to understand all the ways it has. I’ve been trying to express it for awhile, with the irony being that it takes way more effort now for me to express anything. Brain fog has made it extremely hard for me to objectively edit my work. It’s like the editing part of my brain is broken.
Blogging has been much harder than I thought it would be, for reasons I didn’t expect. I knew energy to write was going to be a challenge, in addition to fighting through brain fog to express myself. But I wasn’t expecting to have so much trouble evaluating the quality of my work.
I was given a great piece of advice by a former boss: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
It’s helped me in many areas, especially writing. There is such a thing as over editing. I’ve gone back to look at poems that I’ve realized I’ve edited to death. They’ve been over polished to the point where they’ve lost vitality. Through practice, I had gotten better at not over-editing my work. Under-editing wasn’t so much of an issue for me. I’ve always been a harsh critic of my writing, which has been a good thing in many ways. It’s helped me grow as a writer and push myself to write to the best of my ability.
Now when I read my writing, I question myself and my ability. Does this even make sense? Is the order logical? Is it even interesting or valuable?
I used to know what good writing looked like. I read voraciously and read about writing voraciously.
It’s hard to hit publish when you’re wondering: “Is this even GOOD?”
I thought I had defeated a lot of my uncertainty about my writing years ago. I felt comfortable sharing writing with friends. I’ve submitted writing to literary journals and published poems. I’ve wanted to blog for years, so starting this blog was a huge milestone.
But brain fog has caused this creeping hesitation to return. Writing feels risky, and that’s a frustrating change for someone who has always loved writing.
I don’t have a perfect answer on how to combat this side affect of brain fog, but I want to share some things I’ve found helpful. These are in addition to the supplements and medicine my doctors have recommended to try to restore both my mind and body.
Fighting Brain Fog As A Writer:
Rest—I know, it seems counterintuitive to rest more when you’re trying to get writing done. But believe me, the quality of your work improves when you’re not constantly fighting your body.
Get Feedback—My parents often proofread my blog posts for me, which is really helpful!
Allow for more time—I’ve always found it helpful to step away from my writing, and then come back to it with fresh eyes. I give myself more time and allow for more read-throughs now to offset brain fog.
Surround yourself with encouragement—I collect quotes about writing as a helpful reminder that everyone struggles with first drafts, not just those of us with health problems. We’re in good company.
Don’t be afraid to start over—Sometimes what I write comes out as such gobbledygook that it just makes sense to start with a clean slate.
It doesn’t have to be perfect—What’s the worst that could happen? Someone commenting that you mistyped a word? Big whoop. You’ve probably read many typos online, but you probably remember the content and how it impacted you, vs. if there was a mistake in the text.
I hope this encourages my fellow writers out there battling self doubt and brain fog. Keep going—just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible!
How do other writers and bloggers out there combat brain fog? Is your experience with brain fog similar to my own?
9 Comments
Annie
I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with this. The Fibro-fog makes it so difficult for me to be consistent with my writing. Prayer helps me, and getting a change of scenery too. And just trusting that the Lord will give me the words to write in His timing. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Cassie Creley
Ooh, thank you for mentioning prayer! You are so right—once I’ve done my best, praying that God uses my writing gives me such a sense of peace. I know He can use me imperfect writing to encourage others.
Liz despitepain.com
Thanks for this. It really is helpful. It’s good to remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect.
Cassie Creley
I’m so glad you found this helpful. Yes to letting go of perfection! 🙂
miracarroll
Cassie, I had crazy brain fog due to chronic Lyme disease while working on the first draft of my yet-unfinished novel. Part of the difficulty was my short-term memory was all but destroyed. I knew stuff, but it was so hard to say it.
It was slightly less hard to write what I knew. A profound chain of thought could be lost in a blink, so I learned to do a very imperfect dump of key thoughts into words before getting lost in trying to “write.” I wasn’t entirely successful; I can see my draft still needs a great deal of editing. But the “imperfect dump” allowed me to keep writing when my energy and focus allowed. And as you pointed out, you don’t need to be sick to produce a revision-worthy first draft.
Creative pursuits enhance our lives. Writing helped my recovery. Speed and initial accuracy don’t matter. In fact, a really rough draft is an opportunity for the writer to practice patience and compassion for self while revitalizing fuzzy brain circuits.
I blogged very little from 2016-2019 when I was sickest. That’s fine. But I might have been devastated if I’d allowed my illness to devour my right to write.
May you receive many blessings as you transform your lemons into lemonade. <3 <3 <3
Peace and Love,
miracarroll
Cassie Creley
Thank you for sharing! Way to push through writing your first draft despite these challenges.
I can definitely relate to writing often being easier than talking with brain fog, even when writing is *far* from easy.
Oh my goodness, I love your attitude about seeing a really rough draft as an opportunity. That’s such an encouraging take, and yes to practicing self compassion during the writing process.
I’ve definitely had to resist that feeling that I should be able to blog more—writing some is enough right now. We writers definitely need to celebrate every victory when we’re also dealing with chronic illness.
Thanks again for sharing your encouraging words!
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