Tag: Writing with a disablilty

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Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Divergence And A Writer’s Life

As 2024 rolls away, it is still not playing out as I hoped it would. It is a different kind of year for me. Because of my brain injury, I plan and prepare for daily activities more than the average person.

Unexpected events can be hard for me to adjust to, sometimes even to the point of paralyzing me with fear. Still, I am learning God had different plans for me this year. Taking me out of my comfort zone and challenging me to grow as a person and as a writer. Most of us have a healthy fear of the unknown.

  • Unpredictable
  • Scary
  • Out of our control

After my accident, my life drastically changed and I had no idea what to expect of my new normal. Nor did my doctors and therapists know how I would live, because as our motto goes, “Every brain injury is different. “

Divergence

Growing up as an Army brat, I was used to being different, every few years I had to change schools, homes, and friends. It’s no wonder I enjoyed college so much and being around people from different cultures. However, my accident took being different to another level for me; I live as a divergent of a normal person.

Divergence is a deviation from a course or standard. It means a process of a person doesn’t work in typical ways. The reason why there was so much uncertainty about me after my accident is the doctors performed a risky operation to remove the right side of the frontal lobe of my brain; this caused my brain to rewire itself and diverge from the typical neural pathways.

 My brain injury changes the way every process of my body works. Every function both voluntary and involuntary is altered from the normal process. As an example, I have to consciously think about swinging my left arm when I walk and I have to consciously think about moving my left leg also.

That is how my TBI affects me; however, each brain injury comes with its own challenges and uniqueness, because each brain injury truly is different.

Different

The name of this column reflects persons of different abilities, the mindset is we are not less than healthy individuals, we just have different abilities. Persons with brain injuries like me may function differently only than other people, but we are no less human; even if some may think so.

 We may think and function differently, but we still live, breathe, and bleed like everyone else. Having a brain injury makes me part of the neurodivergent community. This community’s brains receive, process, and filter information in a nontypical fashion. Below are some common diagnoses of the neurodivergent community.

  1. ADHD
  2. Autism
  3. Dyslexia
  4. Dyspraxia
  5. Dyscalculia
  6. Dysgraphia
  7. Tourette Syndrome
  8. Intellectual disabilities
  9. Bipolar disorder
  10. Social anxieties
  11. Traumatic brain injuries

Living with a brain injury for 26 years has taught me to understand and accept different people and lifestyles. As writers, we don’t have the same goals, skills, or paths to success.

I often find myself looking at the success of other writers and feeling inadequate or overcome with disappointment because my writing journey isn’t the same as my writing friends’.

It is easy to get discouraged when we view our differences as roadblocks to success. Instead, we need to learn to celebrate our unique writing journey, skills, and success.

Celebrate

Next month brain injury survivors around the world will celebrate Brain Injury Awareness Month to shed light on brain injury awareness and to celebrate our uniqueness and successes.

We have learned to celebrate the small victories in life. The road to recovery is traveled one small step at a time. My first big success after my accident was learning how to feed myself without the aid of a nurse.

Don’t get me wrong it didn’t feel simple at the time; it was all I could do to keep the food from falling out of my mouth while I ate. Every brain injury comes with its difficulties and successes.

As writers, we each have different strengths and different weaknesses, I don’t know a writer who doesn’t have an area in their skills that they are trying to improve. Writing success and progress looks different for each of us, below are some common steps writers must take on their writing journey.

  • Blogging
  • Starting a newsletter
  • Getting bylines
  • Growing their platform
  • Growing the social media
  • Acquiring an agent
  • Signing a book contract

Each step takes a writer closer to their writing dream; learn to celebrate each success, no matter what the size. Take the time to grow as a writer and process what you learn.

Neurodivergent persons may see and process things differently, but that doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate the progress. Sometimes all I can hope for is a good day when I don’t wake up feeling confused or depressed.

Writers don’t have to wait to celebrate when they get published, we can also celebrate simply meeting our writing goal for the day. Even our daily writing goals can be divergent!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Get It Done

If you are like most people, you are excited about the arrival of fall this month. I have been looking forward to it myself, although I have mixed feelings about the season. But I guess I have to take the bad with the good.

  • Windy days
  • Cooler temperatures
  • Fall colors
  • Shorter days

Shorter days mean less sunlight and with the arrival of September comes my S.A.D. (seasonal effective disorder). While the cooler temperatures are nice, less sunlight can have negative effects on brain and body.

Sunlight helps strengthen bones by increasing vitamin D, which also helps fight depression. Sunlight increases serotonin levels that helps us feel calm and be more focused.

September is also national suicide prevention month. The days will only get shorter from now until the first day of winter. So, we must make the most of the daylight hours we have.

For someone with a brain injury, like me, less sunlight can worsen the effects of living with a brain injury. I already have a hard time staying focused and motivated. Some days, I don’t accomplish much of anything, even though I have a lot that needs to get done.

Get It Done

The demands of the writing life can put a lot of pressure on us. We have to create original content, stories, and articles, then proofread and edit. And yet somehow there always seems to be a typo that slips through, despite our best efforts.

I don’t know about anyone else, but the demands of writing can be overwhelming at times. Feeling overwhelmed can be paralyzing for someone with a brain injury or disability.

Overwhelmed

Being overwhelmed means we feel an unbearable weight or pressure that causes stress. As I have stated before, stress is not good for someone with a brain injury. In some cases, too much stress can be lethal.

After my accident, I learned about my need to avoid overly stressful situations in both my personal and vocational life. Stress damages both the structure and function of the brain which can lead to severe impairment.

One way to reduce stress levels is to work on time management skills. This ensures enough time to get work done, which is key to our lives being less stressful.

Below are some ways we can stay productive without feeling overwhelmed from Redbooth.com

  1. Keep it simple
  2. Eliminate distractions
  3. Identify and organize tasks
  4. Just dive in
  5. Don’t get bogged down
  6. Ask for help
  7. Delegate/swap assignments when possible
  8. Take care of yourself
  9. Make your work environment pleasant

My goal isn’t to be less productive, just more efficient with my life, skills, and time. The old adage, “We all have the same amount of time in a day,” comes to mind.

When we focus more on reducing stress, we can be more productive with whatever time we have and will be able to stay focused.

Stay Focused

When I take care of myself physically and mentally, I am able to be more efficient with my time and workload. Make time to take care of yourself and your writing will follow. Don’t let your deadline be the death of you.

Professional writers understand the importance of meeting or beating deadlines. However, we all know how stressful deadlines can be. Below are a few tips for meeting deadlines from mindtools.com

  • Evaluate what’s required
  • Allow for problems
  • Plan in detail
  • Limit the damage of a missed deadline

Having a brain injury has taught me to be proactive instead of reactive with my health to help me stay on task. Focused productivity is the best way to get things done.

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

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Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Risky Business

As March winds down and brain injury awareness month comes to an end, we are approaching the 25th anniversary of my accident. Looking back, I can think of a lot of obstacles I’ve had to overcome by living a life as a brain injury survivor.

Aside from physical limitations, there is a high risk for strokes, aneurysms, and seizures. Unfortunately, I’ve endured three major seizures since the accident. And each time I return to the same helplessness I felt the first morning in ICU.

I remember the nightmare of my new normal and the changes I’d have to make. I had a choice, to make changes or suffer for the consequences of taking unnecessary risks, below are some of the changes I’ve made in the last 25 years.

  • No more partying, drinking, or smoking.
  • Getting more sleep to let my brain heal and help me to focus.
  • Limiting my caffeine intake.
  • Drinking more water to keep my brain and organs hydrated.
  • Being more deliberate with my actions and not wasting time.

To be honest, before my accident I thought I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted, I was ignorant of how fragile life is and the risks that come with it. I learned the hard truth that nothing in life is guaranteed, we need to know the risks.

As writers we must apply the same principles to our careers, success isn’t guaranteed, but there are steps we can take to minimize unnecessary risks as a writer.

Risky Business

Most people don’t think of a writing career as risky, they have a romanticized view of the industry. Aside from obvious health risks from being sedentary most of the day, there are financial and emotional risks.

One poll found that 80% of Americans want to write a book, however, it also states that only the top 2% of writers make a good living from the writing. Do the math, 78% of people who want to write a book, cannot earn a living from writing, the odds are against us. Thus, pursuing a writing career is a risk.

The truth is most people like to dream, but few people can do it successfully. Even fewer can afford to take the risk, one that may not ever pay off. They try to write, but when they fail, they quit.

After my accident, I wanted to get back to my “normal” life and be able to walk again. I tried my hardest to focus and walk but ended up falling off of the toilet before ever getting out of the ICU unit.

That is when I first experienced the reality of living with a brain injury. Three months after I left rehabilitation, I fell off a bike. Again, I didn’t give up and now 25 years later I can bike up to 60 miles at a time. Still, I am aware of the risks.

I recently fell off my bike for the first time in decades, as I watched the blood pool from the scrapes on my leg, I smiled because I knew the risk and the reward. So, I got back on my bike and finished the 14-mile ride.

The writing life comes with its own risks and setbacks, many of which can be just as discouraging as falling off a bike. According to the writingtribe.com below are…

Seven Challenges Writers Face

  1. Dealing with writer’s block
  2. Not feeling creative enough
  3. Being isolated frequently
  4. Not being productive enough
  5. Having money problems
  6. Not having enough confidence in yourself
  7. Not getting enough rest[i]

These challenges can be seen as either a risk or part of pursuing your calling as a writer. Whenever I talk with other disabled persons, especially brain injury survivors, I try to encourage them that getting back up after a fall helps us get stronger both physically and mentally.

When I was growing up, I was told that if I wasn’t making mistakes, then I wasn’t learning. Learning is a process and making mistakes is good because they allow us to do better next time.

As a brain injury survivor who has suffered seizures and other physical pain, I can attest that pain is the greatest teacher. This is why our parents physically disciplined us when we were little kids. If we kept doing wrong, we kept getting punished. It may sound counterproductive, but the pain helps us mature.

Keep Learning!

One of the hardest parts of being a writer is being rejected by an agent or publisher, it will happen, repeatedly. Rejection can happen for many reasons: bad writing, boring concept, or bad timing. Writers must learn how to disconnect ourselves from the rejection, it’s not about us and sometimes not even about our work.

Agents and publishers are looking for specific projects, voices, and platforms. Rejection simply means our projects don’t have these specific characteristics to be represented. Instead of being discouraged by rejection, writers need to learn how to learn from it and let the rejection work for them.

Some benefits of writers’ rejection from the writingcooperative.com.

  • It’s feedback to do better next time
  • It prepares you for the next level
  • It makes you realize that you are human
  • It makes you stronger

After my accident I had to learn a lot of things the hard way—I can easily lose my balance, I can’t feel the left side of my face which causes food to fall out of my mouth. So, I needed to learn how to focus more. Every day I must keep learning more about myself and bounce back better.

“Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.”

Joni Eareckson Tada

Keep that in mind if you’re struggling in your writing career because it is a risky business!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJonhson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.