Any such thing as brain fog when writing or is it just ideas being jumbled?

[GabrielTenma]

The title is weird I know. Scribblehub's resident trash author here for some more advice by the greats again.

Today I wanted to clear through two chapters and I've been brainstorming them for a hot minute, like 10 chaps in advance brainstorming which is something very rare for me.

When I sat down to write them today, I felt so sloggy and it felt like what I was typing wasn't what I wanted to and never conveyed what I wanted. If I erased it and changed it then I felt like what I put before was better.

Fast forward around 4 hours and the 4k words I was supposed to have, only have 900 or so that I don't like.

One of the causes that might have caused me to slog was a comment I got from a reader that seemed like a cool idea but when I changed my plans it felt like nothing was falling into what I had envisioned it being.

My question is, is it just me being out of my element and as such emotions/state not good for writing for the day or is it because my ideas were changed around to suit something else I never planned on adding? Please help a trash author out T-T

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

My dear, take a moment, step back, and return to it. If you only managed to put 900 words, be proud of them! You put in the work and wrote something! Now, don't erase it. Just step back, let it fester a bit, and come back. If you don't like it, redo it, and if you somehow like it, keep it.
Sometimes, our minds play games with us. I can't count the times I've rewritten something or changed the narrative to something else. Just know that every pass makes it better! Sometimes, it's just an idea we must write down before the better ones arrive! Good luck!

 

[Glitched]

Welcome to the club homie. I have 5 chapters due the beginning of next week and only have 700 words typed this past week. Sometimes you have bad days. Sometimes you need a break. It's ok to wait until you get the spark and you can write hundreds of words with ease. Just cause you can't proceed doesn't mean that your content is bad. Sometimes you just need to look at it from a different angle, or maybe you need a break to process what you want to write. Either way no one is perfect and it's perfectly ok that you're having trouble.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Are you pregnant?

 

[AstreiaNyx]

Same. I’d say you just aren’t in the zone/feeling inspired to write more.

In the past couple of weeks, I only managed to write 2 chapters. But when I feel inspired, I could write 5 during the weekends.

Write the chapters and leave them as is. Reread them when you are in the mood and enhance the scenes or modify them. Otherwise, take your time off and spam the forum like an average SH writer!

 

[HuaiChi]

There are two ways to counter this. The first is to take a break and read a lot of books. Even if it is a text book
Second, Write whatever is inside your mind, even if jumbled up. and take a break from reading in. Return a week later and read it. It will clear your mind.

 

[GabrielTenma]

Are you pregnant?

No.

 

[2wordsperminute]

Fast forward around 4 hours and the 4k words I was supposed to have, only have 900 or so that I don't like.

900 words in 4 hours is a feat I haven't been able to achieve in... checks upload dates... oh wow, I haven't uploaded a chapter in half a year. I need to fix that.

tl;dr 900 words in 4 hours is still great, it's good progress.

 

[Keene]

Is there something specific about the chapter that is causing fog?

Is the dialogue not coming naturally from the characters?
Is it difficult to paint the visuals of the scene in your writing?
Is it difficult to move from one action to the next?

Or all of the above?

 

[GabrielTenma]

Is there something specific about the chapter that is causing fog?

Is the dialogue not coming naturally from the characters?
Is it difficult to paint the visuals of the scene in your writing?
Is it difficult to move from one action to the next?

Or all of the above?

Is the dialogue not coming naturally from the characters? A bit of this
Is it difficult to paint the visuals of the scene in your writing? not much of this
Is it difficult to move from one action to the next? not this

 

[RepresentingCaution]

No.

OK, well that rules out one possible reason for brain fog. There are other physical causes for brain fog, though. Make sure you're getting enough exercise, water, and sleep. Keeping a food diary and logging your productivity can improve eating habits if you need to do better in that department. There are also a gagillion health-related apps to choose from, depending on your needs and what you think will help the most.