The Writer’s Brain Fog
Even when frustrations, isolation, and quarantines arrive, the creative finds interest in even the common events, building a delightful story.

Keep it real, I say as I write the sentence on the computer screen. My writer’s brain is stumped. Not because I lack topics. No, I think its because I lack motivation. Motivation is something we have internally, which moves us from one point to the next in pursuit of whatever our goals resemble.
Can you imagine, me? I writer with nothing to say? Someone who has a story for any circumstance for any client finds herself stumped with any hope of creation?
Long term goals, short term goals, writer’s goals, any type of goal you have will be nothing without an undercurrent of motivation. Where do we dredge up motivation on days when life is full of the blah, meh, and ugh feelings?
I’m in search of the answer. As I read articles across different platforms I marvel at the written word. Ideas pounce upon my mind like a cat on a mouse. And then, they fall limply like a squid out of water.
Symbolism indeed, strikes my fancy as I write. My brain makes connections, laughs, and then, evaporates back into silence. Nothing. Zero. Maybe I am the only one who is facing the enormous void of connectivity in society, or the streets barren, except for brave walkers who burn the paws of their dogs off by incessant walking after months of leaving their dogs at home.
Man’s best friend has become man’s source of comfort during the COVID-19’s onslaught. Oh the joy! My dogs have been my little buddies, but way before the virus disrupted my world. They like me home. My internship is online, my music lessons are all online (that is real), and my work with men begins online in two weeks.
My words often take the common and make them memorable. Like a twist of the common into the interesting, and more importantly, specific to a cause.
Life is centered around the chaotic insulation of my home. Hours and hours of online work make writing seem a waste. My computer or laptop is with me all day, so why do I want to type on it any thoughts? I wonder to myself, am I alone in this chaos?
Obviously I am not alone. The streets are bare, and stores have vacant parking lots. Businesses are empty. Lives are in limbo. People are stuck in a waiting game, which feels like suffocation.
Writer’s who inspire me
As we seek alternate forms of inspiration, to write feels like we are stuck in a frame of mind of unconquerable fortitude.
Charles Duhigg states in his book, Smarter Faster Better, that “But when we teach people a process for reframing choices, when we give them a series of steps that causes a decision to seem a little bit different than before,” Said Johnson, “It helps them take more control of what’s going on the inside of their heads” (2016, p. 262).

If we take into account all the writers across the span of time, I am sure we’d find some who didn’t know how to deal with issues or what to write at times. Events across the historic timeline lend the writer a picture into what interests past authors and readers alike.
The span of time brings us creatives from the ancients. Consider Horace, for instance. He suggested we look for common events, which are interesting to us. If we are poets, writers, and creatives and the mind cannot grasp the beauty or fear of a thing, how do we create?
Horace to the rescue: “Poetry wants to instruct or else to delight. Or better still, to delight and to instruct at once.”
The complexity of life created in a poetic voice both instructs us to what we enjoy, or dislike, and delights us in victory or loss of life and love. Imagination sparked by the writers of old helped me today write when my brain felt I had nothing inside worth writing. Can you imagine, me? I writer with nothing to say? Someone who has a story for any circumstance for any client finds herself stumped with any hope of creation?
My brain makes connections, laughs, and then, evaporates back into silence. Nothing. Zero. A blank slate stays in place.
Instead, I find myself grateful for the days of reading, listening, and taking notes. I found the blessing of doing nothing except filling my mind with wandering words of courage and fortitude. Times past reveal stories in inspirational levels. Some, of course are dull, and others, dependent on your personal interests, reveal a depth of graciousness and exploration.
The simple idea to sit on my living room floor, surrounded by books, watching Supernatural, and hearing my little doggies munching on their food. I am interested in all things supernatural and in all things common.
My words often take the common and make them memorable. Like a twist of the common into the interesting, and more importantly, specific to a cause.
Horace’s words helped me to consider how to turn a simple questioning article into a focused piece of work. I’ve woven my spirit into the words, and crafted my thoughts into a pliable, workable idea.
As you move into the unknown, much like myself, find something of interest, which is important to you. In your perspective write your story with interest. Write with passion for your topic. Write with something more than the fleeting, passing time of doing nothing, but waiting.
~Just a thought by Pamela