The Writer’s Brain

Most of the writers I know, once in the zone will work for hours on a project. They will isolate, set aside family, friends, work, and everything else and focus on a project. Now achieving that focus is never simple. It requires flipping a switch, and turning it off is no easy task either.

Writers tend to allow their words to overtake them, playing phrases and words over and over with various punctuation, grammar choices, and emphasis. We collect sayings, quotes, words, and such to use later.

There was a time I wondered if I was really a writer, then I attended a conference and found a collection of people so similar, it was eery. Oh, we endlessly debate plotting techniques, designing setting or characters first, editing on which level of rewrites, and even the use of the Oxford comma. All riveting discussions for the writer and useless for most anyone else. Personally, I want an onemonipia reference sheet with standard spelling for sound effects. Do you know how helpful that would be for dialogue? But I digress, writers all have many similarities.

As a writer if I walk in a room and lose track of what I am doing, where I am, or who I am looking for, other writers smile and ask me what I am plotting. Nonwriters wonder if age has caught up with me. Letting someone else drive is applauded among writers, “I love plotting in the car, something about the sound of movement helps keep the story moving.” Nonwriters ask why I didn’t take a turn driving.

It is not all fun and games, having a writer’s brain. I can debate over punctuation or sentence structure for hours, looking up references and thinking up reasons to make something simple, complicated. And rewrites are endless.

The truth is, whether I write or not, I have a writer’s brain. I might just as well schedule time for it to run wild and see what it can create. I have no desire to spend my time policing my thoughts and trying to keep it contained. 😁

So pick up a book, dive into a story, let your mind play in my world for a while. I promise it will be fun and entertaining. 🤪